Undersecretary Raul T. Vasquez said the Department of Justice is looking into the possibility that former presidential spokesperson Harry L. Roque may have left the country in a hurry on a private plane.

In an interview on DZBB radio, Vasquez said “this is being looked into by the Bureau of Immigration.”

Vasquez said this was one of the areas they needed to improve on — foiling the use of private planes by wanted persons to flee the country — citing the case of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo who was believed to have fled to Indonesia on a private plane.

Guo was subsequently arrested in Indonesia and returned to the Philippines.

Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has jurisdiction over private hangars and not the BI.

“Even flying schools can fly persons out of the Philippines,” Vasquez said, pointing out that immigration officers only come to private hangars when asked.

He said the BI lacks the manpower to deploy officers to private hangars, adding that even at the airports the BI is already short-handed.

Roque was found to have already left the Philippines after he submitted to the DoJ a counter-affidavit that was notarized in Abu Dhabi in response to the qualified trafficking in persons complaint against him.

Viado said the BI is studying the possibility of filing cases against Roque.

He said Roque might have left the country through illegal means, possibly aided by unscrupulous individuals.