Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque yesterday denied involvement in the qualified human trafficking allegedly committed by Lucky South 99, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga, which had been raided and shut down.

Roque said the case against him was fabricated and intended to silence him as an ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

He said he was not surprised the case was filed, especially after the House of Representatives Quad Committee announced plans to file a plunder case against Vice President Sara Duterte and one for crimes against humanity against her father.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) filed a supplemental complaint on Monday before the Department of Justice (DoJ), in addition to the qualified trafficking in persons complaint submitted on 10 September against Lucky South 99 representative Katherine Cassandra Li Ong and 53 other respondents.

Aside from Roque, the supplemental complaint also named Mercides Peralta Macabasa and Ley Tan as respondents.

“This means that when they first filed the complaint on 10 September, they could not find any evidence against me for qualified human trafficking,” Roque said.