The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday said that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque may have left the country through the same route as ex-Bamban Tarlac mayor Alice Guo in Tawi-tawi. 

BI Chief Joel Viado said that there is no official record of Roque’s departure from the country, which raised suspicions that he may have exited the Philippines without passing through regular immigration checkpoints.

“Since Mr. Roque has no recorded departure in the BI’s records, he likely took the same route as Alice Guo in leaving the country by using a backdoor exit in Tawi-tawi,” he said.

While the BI has yet to verify Guo’s exact departure point in the Philippines, Viado noted that individuals backed by POGO operations can easily flee the country due to its highly permeable borders.

“Guo most likely left the country via a backdoor exit, potentially crossing from Tawi-tawi into Sabah. The Philippines has a porous border, with a coastline stretching 36,000 kilometers, making it difficult to monitor,” he said.

Roque was last spotted in Tawi-tawi on 2 September 2024, two days before he reportedly left for the United Arab Emirates. 

After he was initially spotted on 2 September 2024, reports indicated that he was not sighted within the town of Bongao afterwards. 

“In conclusion, any powerful individual backed by the POGOs or have access to funding and resources such as the POGOs can easily sneak out of our borders and enter other neighboring countries,” Viado said.

Roque has been in the center of controversies amid his alleged involvement in Lucky South 99, the raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) firm in Porac, Pampanga.