Barbers still smoking from Roque escape

The House of Representatives Quad Committee (Quadcomm) renewed its call to the authorities on Thursday to initiate a full-blown investigation into the escape from the Philippines of lawyer Harry Roque, former spokesperson of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte.

Panel chair Robert Ace Barbers also wants officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) investigated amid suspicions they allowed Roque to leave the country.

“We should look into it and [determine] how that happened, who he was complicit with. Those people should be punished and held accountable,” Barbers said in an interview.

Roque was the subject of an immigration lookout bulletin as far back as August. In September, he was cited in contempt and ordered arrested by the Quadcomm for repeatedly snubbing its summons to explain his ties to Lucky South 99 Corp., an illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) based in Porac, Pampanga.

The POGO firm was raided earlier this year over allegations of unlawful activities. Later, Roque confirmed he had left the Philippines and was in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The BI categorically denied facilitating Roque’s departure, saying it was considering filing a case against him. They suspected that he fled the country illegally, citing official records that showed no attempt by him to leave the country through formal channels.

Barbers, however, did not buy the BI’s alibi. “That’s what they claimed. That’s why we should look closely into how [Roque] got out,” Barbers said.

“He went through something, and our agencies know how and where it was,” he added. “[We] can’t deny that [he] is a well-known personality. [He] can’t just get away without an accomplice.”

Roque has maintained that he will not return to the Philippines unless ordered to do so by the Supreme Court or until the close of the current Congress. His wife, Mylah Roque, is also the subject of an arrest warrant.

Implicated

Roque is facing qualified human trafficking charges — a non-bailable offense — for his alleged involvement in Lucky South 99, which he repeatedly denied lawyering for.

He was implicated in the POGO operation after he confirmed that he escorted his client, Cassandra Li Ong, Lucky South 99’s authorized representative, to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to settle its unpaid taxes, which were projected to be at least $500,000, for the continued operation of the POGO hub.

The Quadcomm had called on the Anti-Money Laundering Council to investigate Roque’s acquisition of his assets and to freeze them.

The lawmakers had raised doubts about the abrupt increase in Roque’s assets in Biancham Holdings and Trading Inc. — a family-owned company — which skyrocketed to P68,775,800 in 2018 from P125,300 in 2014 and P3,125,000 in 2015.

Roque, however, attributed the increase to the sale of a 1.8-hectare family property in Multinational Village in Parañaque City, which was sold for some P260 million.