MANILA, Philippines – Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque‘s name consistently appears in documents and testimonies related to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO), the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said on Saturday, August 24.

“I would like to give reference to a former Cabinet official. So, Atty. Roque is a former Cabinet official. So, given the benefit of the doubt in relation to what he is saying, but then again now that his name keeps on cropping up in the documents, in the digital footprint, in the testimonial footprint,” PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said during the Saturday News Forum on August 24.

“We cannot discount his possible involvement in all of these matters,” Casio added. “I don’t believe in coincidence anymore as far as Harry Roque is concerned…. His footprint is everywhere. But of course you have to put one plus equals two to create a case, complete a case.”

Casio explained that the PAOCC, which leads the government’s crackdown against POGOs, is probing everyone whose name appears in the probe into the illegal industry. POGOs are now banned in the country, following the directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his State of the Nation Address last July.

The PAOCC official added that aside from Roque, other names also appear, like “bureaucrats, tenured officers, and former government officials.” When asked if Roque is the highest government official under probe, Casio refused to comment.

“Again, we are not politically motivated. We are based on evidence. So, defer to their wisdom, in the time that they need to read through the evidence submitted by both parties and once they are finished going through the evidence, then I am confident that they would see the argument our way,” Casio added.

In a message to Rappler, Roque pleaded to Casio to refrain from giving media interviews, adding that “baseless trial by publicity aimed at discrediting him” should be put to an end. 

“I ask the PAOCC to submit their evidence to the prosecutor’s office. Even without seeing them, the case against me is utterly bereft of merit since trafficking requires the act of recruiting persons through force or intimidation for the purpose of exploiting their labor,” Roque said. 

“I look forward to the day that I will face my accusers in the proper court. Haharapin ko kayo ng buong talino at buong tapang (I will face you with whole of my intelligence and courage)… File the case. So I can defend myself. I am waiting,” he added.

Earlier this year, the Senate launched a probe into POGOs and the crimes linked to the industry. The House of Representatives later followed suit. The successive Senate hearings led to the discovery of officials involved in the industry, like dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who is tagged in the Zun Yuan Technology POGO located in Bamban.

The dismissed mayor’s nationality were questioned due to inconsistencies in her personal information, like details about her parents and education. Later, authorities found that Guo is actually Chinese, whose actual name is Guo Hua Ping.

Guo has already left the country as early as July before the Senate could even arrest and detain her for snubbing the hearings. However, Guo’s sister, Sheila, and Katherine Cassandra Ong, a personality tagged in the Porac, Pampanga POGO, are now under the authorities’ custody and faces charges. (READ: What happens now to Sheila Guo, Cassandra Ong?)

After Ong’s arrest this week, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is among the lawmakers leading the probe into POGOs, said Ong was under close monitoring because she is essential in determining who should be implicated in relation to the Lucky South 99 POGO.

“What’s Ong’s ties with Alice Guo, Harry Roque, and others? Who let her and Alice Guo’s sister leave the country, and why is our immigration system full of loopholes? I believe all these questions will be answered in our next hearing,” Hontiveros said.

Guo, meanwhile, faces trafficking and tax evasion complaints before the Department of Justice. There are also pending petitions seeking the cancellation of her birth certificate, as well as a quo warranto case that aims to invalidate her Filipino citizenship. To date, there is no judicial arrest warrant against Guo, only the Senate arrest order.

Harry and POGO

Roque was embroiled in the POGO controversy when a document showed him as a legal representative of Lucky South 99, the POGO raided in Porac, Pampanga due to alleged human trafficking and torture. The former presidential spokesperson has maintained that he has no direct link to the company. A document obtained by Rappler showed that Roque was among the names listed as the officials of Lucky South 99.

During a House probe into POGOs on July 10, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman Alejandro Tengco said Roque is listed as Lucky South 99’s legal head. In a later House probe, lawmakers said that Roque “effectively” lawyered for POGO despite denials from the former official. Due to his alleged ties with the Porac POGO, Roque has been placed under the PAOCC’s probe since August.

Later, Roque was placed under the immigration’s lookout bulletin. An Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order does not have the power to prohibit the subjects from traveling abroad; it merely places them on high alert with stricter mechanisms to monitor where they are going.

Just this week, Roque was cited in contempt and was detained for a day after the House learned that he lied when he said a prior court commitment prevented him from attending a congressional inquiry on August 16. He was detained for 24 hours. – Rappler.com