House tags Roque a fugitive

The House of Representatives considers former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque a fugitive for evading the service of an arrest warrant on him, a lawmaker said Monday.

The arrest order, issued by the House quad committee, stemmed from Roque’s failure to submit subpoenaed documents, including his statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN) from 2016 to 2022, as part of the consolidated panel’s ongoing inquiry.

Roque in a prior hearing had promised to provide the records but he later filed a motion to quash the subpoena, arguing that the documents were irrelevant to the panel’s investigation into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), in which he was implicated.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Roque was in violation of Section 11(b) of the House Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation.

The House sergeant-at-arms, in coordination with the Philippine National Police, attempted to serve the arrest warrant at Roque’s law office on Friday, but his staff reportedly refused to accept it.

“They’ve been looking for him for the past three days. He’s been hiding since Friday. We consider him a fugitive because the police and the sergeant-at-arms couldn’t find him,” Pimentel said in an interview.

He added, “This is just an inquiry. There are no cases filed yet. So if he has nothing to hide, why doesn’t he want to appear before our committee?”

DAILY TRIBUNE has reached out to Roque for comment but has not received a response as of press time.

Roque is considered a key figure in the quad committee’s investigation due to his alleged connection to South 99 Corp., an illegal POGO firm in Porac, Pampanga, that was raided earlier this year for alleged criminal activities, including torture and scam operations.

Roque previously admitted to assisting Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99 and an incorporator of Whirlwind Corporation, when he escorted her to the offices of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) to negotiate the rescheduling of the company’s unpaid taxes, which were estimated at $500,000.

Ong, Roque’s client, is currently detained on the House premises.

Lawmakers suspect that Roque’s assets under Biancham Holdings and Trading Inc., which grew from P125,300 in 2014 to P68,775,800 in 2018, may be linked to his involvement in POGOs, a sector that thrived during the Duterte administration.

Roque served as the spokesperson of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“I strongly urge Mr. Harry Roque to attend our hearing this Thursday to clarify questions regarding his involvement in POGOs, specifically Lucky South 99,” Pimentel said.