BI ‘clueless’ on Roque whereabouts

The Bureau of Immigration admitted on Tuesday that it remains clueless about the whereabouts of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who is facing human trafficking charges for his alleged involvement in Lucky South 99 Corporation, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub that was raided in Porac, Pampanga.

According to BI Intelligence Division chief Fortunato Manahan Jr. the last information the agency has about Harry and his wife, Mylah, is that they went to the United Arab Emirates, particularly in Dubai, in December.

“We can’t recall the dates anymore but the last information we had on the couple, the Roques, is that the wife went to Singapore and then traveled to Dubai. There’s also sightings of Harry Roque in Dubai,” Manahan told the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights hearing.

“There was also information that they left sometime in December but we don’t have any more information after that,” he added.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who led the Senate hearing, asked Manahan whether the BI was aware that Roque went to Shanghai, China for a day and then traveled to Macau afterwards.

“Madam chair, sorry we don’t have any information about it. However, we have learned that Roque went to Japan, too,” Manahan said in response to the lawmaker’s question.

“He was not able to go to the US (United States) because he was denied upon check in. The Japan police or immigration have no holdings. After that, we don’t have any information,” he added.

During the hearing, Manahan did not provide answers regarding Roque’s intended destination in the US or where he stayed while in Japan.

It was in October when the BI confirmed that Mylah, a former trustee of the Pag-IBIG Fund, left the country, while her husband, Harry likely left the country through backdoor channels.

National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Director Ferlu Silvio confirmed speculations that the former Palace mouthpiece may have used an illegal means to escape the country.

“Relatedly, as I mentioned earlier, regarding former spokesperson Harry Roque, there is a strong possibility that he used that route with his flight details from Zamboanga to Tawi-Tawi,” Silvio said.

“Of course, without delving into specifics, our monitoring of his travel records remains continuous, including his movements in Dubai, Macau, and Japan,” she added.

Silvio earlier said that Tawi-Tawi is being used to illegally “smuggled” people to Malaysia, particularly in Sabah, a route that was possibly used by dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo when she left the country in July.

“The Tawi-Tawi area is much closer, Your Honor. In fact, during and after the pandemic, many of our fellow Filipinos were repatriated from Sabah back to Zamboanga through what the DFA refers to as ‘transfer.’ On average, around 400 to 500 people traveled by ship in each trip,” she said.

She added: “So, if we consider how many people were able to return to the Philippines through this route, it shows just how easy it is to smuggle individuals out of Zamboanga, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. If that many are being sent back from Sabah to Zamboanga, imagine how many are also illegally entering Malaysia.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed in December that Roque and his wife availed themselves of notarial services from the Philippine post in the United Arab Emirates.

“The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi extended consular services to Mr. and Mrs. Roque, as required for documents executed abroad for use in the Philippines,” the DFA said in a statement.