Police tracker teams join search for Roque

Former presidential spokesperson lawyer Harry Roque. —Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police has created special tracker teams to go after former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who is facing arrest after the House quad committee cited him in contempt over his refusal to submit documents about his supposed links to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).

The manhunt would be led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said in a statement on Tuesday.

“We have officially received the request from the House of Representatives and the PNP is fully committed to executing this order while adhering to our core mandate,” said Marbil, who stressed the operations would be carried out “with the highest level of professionalism and respect for due process.”

READ: Authorities searching for Harry Roque after House arrest order

“Our fundamental duty is to respect the decisions of our democratic institutions and ensure human rights are protected throughout this process,” he added.

After Roque was cited in contempt on Sept. 12, the House sergeant at arms tried to serve the arrest order issued by the quad committee at his law firm’s office in Makati City. Roque, however, was not around and his staff refused to receive the warrant on his behalf.

Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez earlier said they believed Roque may be hiding to avoid attending the ongoing investigation of his alleged ties to Lucky South 99, a Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga.

The Pogo hub was raided and closed by law enforcers on June 4 on suspicion that it was involved in torture, human trafficking and illegal scamming activities.

Roque: Not a fugitive

But Roque maintained he was not a fugitive and accused Congress of “power tripping.”

“I’m not a fugitive because I violated the law. It’s only Congress that considers me a fugitive and I don’t care. If Congress cited me in contempt, I think Congress is cited in contempt by the people of the Philippines,” he said in a live video posted on his Facebook page on Monday.

On Tuesday, the chair of the House quad committee called Roque out for his “conflicting stances” on the legitimacy of the ongoing inquiry into his supposed Pogo links.

Speaking to reporters, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers reminded Roque—who had labeled the investigation a “kangaroo court”—of his own behavior during the 2016 House inquiry into then Sen. Leila de Lima’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking when she headed the justice department.

Roque, at that time the Kabayan party list representative, was among those who actively brought up De Lima’s sex life and even wished for her to “spend the rest of her life in jail.” He also criticized the senator for labeling the House investigations a “kangaroo court” and urged her colleagues to remind her to uphold parliamentary courtesy.

Barbers’ challenge

“Where is he (Roque) coming from when he called the quad committee a kangaroo court?” asked Barbers.

He also dared Roque, who had refused to submit documents that would show whether or not his wealth came from illegal Pogos, to “man up” and face the panel instead of mocking it on social media.

Roque twice tried to quash the subpoena issued by the quad committee for him to submit the deed of sale for a lot in Multinational Village, Parañaque City; documents on the transfer of Biancham shareholdings; the extrajudicial settlement of his aunt’s estate; his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs) from 2016 to 2022; and his 2018 income tax return.

The subpoena was triggered by “overwhelming circumstantial evidence” that Roque, through his company Biancham, was involved with illegal Pogos. Biancham holds 52 percent of a company called PH2, which owns the Tuba, Benguet house raided by authorities in June and where a Chinese fugitive linked to Lucky South 99 was found.

Barbers said these documents would have helped Roque “justify himself,” adding, “We don’t care about your net worth. But explain to us why the value of Biancham, which has links to Lucky South 99, rose in 2018 at the height of Pogo operations.”

In July, President Marcos ordered a ban on Pogos and directed them to wind down their operations by the end of the year.

Barbers also denied the quad committee was “power-tripping” against Roque and asked him to “disabuse yourself from believing you are a central political figure.”