Roque denies Biancham’s POGO link

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday denied owning the house that was recently raided by the authorities in Benguet for its alleged link to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO).

During the fifth hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family and Gender Equality into illegal POGOs, its chair Senator Risa Hontiveros asked Roque if he owned the house in an exclusive subdivision in Tuba, Benguet.

The house was the subject of a mission order of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) last week.

Roque said he did not own the property but admitted he had a short stay in the house in 2019 when he briefly left the government after running for the Senate.

“Well, at first, because I stayed there when I left the government in 2019, but when I returned to the government, I no longer stayed there,” he said when asked by Hontiveros if his name was registered with the homeowners association of the subdivision.

Roque resigned his post as the mouthpiece of former president Rodrigo Duterte in October 2018 and later withdrew his senatorial bid citing a health condition.

At least two foreign nationals believed to have links to a POGO firm were apprehended at the house.

Roque said the property is registered to a corporation called Biancham Holdings Inc., in which he admitted he had an interest.

He said that the property’s current “registered lessee” is a Chinese national named Huan Yun, who is also “registered with the homeowners association.”

The former Palace mouthpiece said he is in the process of obtaining a controlling interest in the corporation by buying out the shares of its incorporators, including the share of Alberto Rodulfo “AR” de la Serna.

“I confirm that we’re in the process of buying into Biancham now. We will have controlling interest of Biancham once the paperwork is finished,” he said.