The House quad committee cited in contempt and ordered former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque detained for constantly refusing to submit various documents, including business records; tax returns; and Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALNs), which are subject to subpoena.
The panel has required Roque to submit such records to justify the abrupt increase of his assets under 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 had previously committed to providing the documents during his first appearance on 22 August at the panel's second probe into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), in which he is being implicated.
However, he later filed a motion to quash the subpoena duces tecum, contending that they were not germane to the legislative inquiry.
He also argued that it violates his fundamental constitutional rights, including the right to privacy and the right against self-incrimination.
At the fifth hearing on Thursday, the quad comm denied Roque's motion for the second time.
"If he will not be able to prove the legal and valid source of this sudden increase of assets of Biancham, then there is a reasonable ground to believe that, indeed, he is connected with POGO operation, and this money possibly came from the POGO operation," Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro lamented.
Luistro noted that the requested documents were "overwhelming circumstantial evidence" showing Roque's connection to Lucky South 99 Corp., an illegal POGO firm in Porac, Pampanga, raided earlier this year over allegations of unlawful activities, such as torture and scam farms.
Lucky South 99's authorized representative, Cassandra Li Ong, was Roque's client.
"Mr. Chair. Attorney Harry Roque articulated that his money did not come from POGO. To emphasize, Mr. Chair, that statement did not come from quad comm, did not come from this representation. Instead, it came from the mouth of Attorney Harry Roque," she said.
Luistro added, "This is an admission, therefore, Mr. Chair, that he admits the connection of these documents, which we are requiring from him, from the investigation on POGO operation that we are conducting right now."
Bukidnon Rep. Keith Flores moved that Roque be held in contempt and detained until he submitted the requirements, which panel chair Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers approved.
This is the quad comm's second contempt order against Roque, who skipped the recent two hearings.
Luistro has questioned the significant increase in Roque's assets in Biancham during his tenure as Duterte's spokesperson, a role with a modest salary.
Roque, however, explained that this was because their family sold 1.8 hectares of land in the Multinational Village in Paranaque for roughly P260 million.
He said the property's proceeds—divided among their siblings—were later invested in a real estate project in Bataan, but the bulk of the funds used to acquire the land belonged to his late aunt.
Roque said the contempt order against him is a "political inquisition against the Duterte family and me as their outspoken ally."
"This is a fishing expedition. Since they couldn't find any hard evidence to link me to the illegal POGO, they tried to fabricate evidence to match their story. And even if I submit their requested documents, they will still find and find a way to pressure me," he said in Filipino.
He added, "Cassandra Li Ong clearly stated that I am not Lucky South 99's lawyer. End of story. But quad com still hasn't stopped their political harassment and power trip."