Prosecutors from the Department of Justice on Monday formally filed qualified human trafficking charges against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque at the Angeles City Regional Trial Court in Pampanga.
The complaint stemmed over Roque’s alleged involvement in a raided scam farm in Porac. The charges, which fall under Section 6 of the Anti-Human Trafficking law, are non-bailable.
Also charged alongside Roque are Cassandra Ong and 48 others, identified as alleged owners, officers, or key employees of Whirlwind, the mother company of Lucky South 99, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) accused of trafficking workers through scam operations.
Prosecutors said the “crime was committed by a syndicate and on a large scale, carried out by a group of three or more persons conspiring with each other,” according to the charge sheet.
With the filing of the charges, a judge in Angeles City will now determine whether there is probable cause to issue arrest warrants against Roque, Ong, and the others.
If a warrant is issued, authorities will need to decide how to enforce it against Roque, who is currently in The Hague, Netherlands, undergoing asylum proceedings on claims of political persecution.
The Philippines and the Netherlands do not have an existing extradition treaty.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last year banned POGO operations over criminal activities like kidnapping, scams and even murders associated with POGO firms.