The House of Representatives now considers former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque a "fugitive" for his supposed continuous "hiding" from the authorities serving an arrest order against him, a lawmaker said Monday.
The order of detention issued by the House quad committee follows Roque's failure to submit subpoenaed documents relative to its inquiry, including, among others, his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth from 2016-2022.
Roque had previously committed to providing the records during the previous hearing but later filed a motion to quash, asserting he was not germane to the panel's ongoing inquiry into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), in which he is being implicated.
Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Roque's defiance was in violation of Section 11(b) of the House Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation.
The House Seargent-at-Arms, in coordination with the Philippine National Police, had already served the detention order to Roque's law office since Friday, but his staff reportedly refused to receive it.
"They have been looking for him for the past three days… Since Friday, he's into hiding. We already consider him a fugitive because the police and then the Sargeant-of-Arms couldn't find him," Pimentel said in an interview.
He added, "This is just an inquiry. There are no cases filed yet. So if he has nothing to hide, why doesn't he want to appear in our committee?"
DAILY TRIBUNE has contacted Roque for comments but has yet to receive a response as of press time.
Roque was deemed "material" to the quad comm probe due to his link to the 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.
Roque earlier admitted to escorting Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99 and also the incorporator of Whirlwind Corporation, to the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation to allow Lucky South to reschedule the payment of its unpaid taxes, which were projected to be at least $500,000.
Ong, Roque's client, has been detained at the House premises.
Lawmakers suspect that the sudden increase in Roque's assets under his Biancham Holdings and Trading Inc. from P125,300 in 2014 to P68,775,800 in 2018 was due to his connection with POGO, which flourished during the Duterte administration.
Roque served as the mouthpiece of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
"I strongly suggest to Mr. Harry Roque for him to appear [on our] hearing this coming Thursday so that he can shed light on the different questions that arise from his involvement in POGO mo specifically in the Lucky South 99," Pimentel said.
Pimentel added that failure to do so would compel the quad comm to make a motion to request the Bureau of Immigration issue a hold departure order against Roque.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Roque called the quad comm a “kangaroo court,” engaged in “political harassment” and “power tripping.”
Moreover, he claimed that the panel’s contempt order against him was a "political inquisition against the Duterte family and (him) as their outspoken ally."