Roque must attend Pogo hearing, take opportunity to air side – Escudero

FILE PHOTO: Former presidential spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque speaks during a forum at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay in Ermita, Manila on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. INQUIRER.net/Ryan Leagogo

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Francis Escudero is hoping that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque will attend the upper chamber’s inquiry into illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) if he is requested to appear.

Escudero said Roque should take the opportunity to air his point of view given the seriousness of the allegations being hurled against him.

The Senate chief stressed anyone accused of anything has a “right to face his accuser and air his side.”

“I believe that these are serious allegations which Sec. Roque should clarify, and I believe that the committee will most likely invite him to get his side on this matter [or] issue,” Escudero said in a text message to reporters.

“I hope Sec. Roque will make use of this opportunity,” he added.

READ: Roque’s bank documents found in raided Pampanga Pogo – PAOCC

During a Senate panel hearing on illegal Pogos on Wednesday, July 10, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) chief Alejandro Tengco mentioned Roque’s name as an alleged lawyer of offshore gaming operator Lucky South 99.

Roque, however, denied he was a lawyer of Lucky South 99, clarifying that his client was Whirlwind Corporation, a service provider to Lucky South 99 which was then a holder of a valid license from Pagcor.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III meanwhile said Roque is a lawyer and now out of the government that it is legal for him to practice his profession.

“Hence, maybe he is practicing his profession, which he is allowed to do under existing laws,” Pimentel pointed out.

READ: Pagcor chief: Roque sought meeting as Pogo ‘lawyer’

He also said there is a shortcut to all Pogo problems in the country: stop its operations.

“President Bongbong Marcos should simply order Pagcor and other government agencies to stop Pogo operation[s] here in the Philippines. Stop giving licenses and permits. Give the [legal ones] one month to wind down their operations. Say goodbye to Pogo,” he said.

Several senators have been urging Marcos to completely ban Pogos in the Philippines, pointing out  that it only “made the country a fertile ground for various crimes.”