Panelo: Roque appears to be a Pogo lawyer
Harry Roque
MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo believes that his colleague from the Duterte administration, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, is not a victim of political persecution, as it appears that Roque acted as a lawyer for a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) hub.
During an interview with OneNews, Panelo was asked about the arrest order issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 118 in Angeles City, Pampanga, against Roque for human trafficking. This is related to the Lucky South 99 POGO hub, which authorities raided in June 2024.
Panelo advised Roque to return to the Philippines and face the charges filed against him.
Panelo also said he does not think Roque is a victim of political persecution.
“It’s hard to prove the political persecution claim that he is talking about because it came directly from his mouth during the congressional hearing. It appears that he really served as counsel for them; he has made many contradictions, inconsistencies, which resulted in complaints because it came from him directly,” Panelo said.
When he was asked again if Roque was a victim of political persecution, Panelo said, “No, I do not think so. That’s why, if I were him—since he is a lawyer as well—I would just return home and face the charges.”
Panelo was referring to the hearings conducted by the House of Representatives’ quad committee, where documents bearing Roque’s signature related to the Lucky South 99 Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga, were discussed
The documents were obtained after the raid, which authorities conducted to rescue 186 foreign and Filipino workers detained in the Pogo hub.
During the hearings, Roque also admitted that he accompanied Katherine Cassandra Ong, an incorporator of Whirlwind Corporation, which leased land to Lucky South 99, to settle fees with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.
READ: Roque: Pagcor chief did not say I lobbied for illegal Pogo firms
Roque attended several hearings of the quad committee to clarify his alleged involvement. However, he was eventually cited for contempt after skipping subsequent hearings and failing to provide the required documents to the committee.
Quad committee lead presiding officer and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said that Roque is not subject to a formal probe, noting that they only want the truth about his companies’ alleged links to the Pogo hub.
Biancham Holdings and PH2 Corporation, both of which Roque was involved with, were also scrutinized for alleged links to Lucky South 99.
Barbers’ concerns about Roque’s involvement stemmed from an operation in July 2024, during which Chinese national Sun Liming was arrested as an illegal alien hiding in a house in Tuba, Benguet.
Sun initially claimed to be a Cambodian national but was later revealed to be connected to fraud cases in China aside from working for Lucky South 99.
READ: Fugitive nabbed in Benguet linked to fraud in China
Roque admitted to partly owning the Tuba house, explaining that he used to live in that house after leaving the government.
READ: Roque admits to partly own ‘raided’ house in Benguet
Last May 16, the Angeles court issued an arrest order against Roque and Ong over Lucky South 99’s alleged links to human trafficking. Roque, however, claimed that it was just another proof that the Marcos administration was supposedly persecuting him for being critical of the government.
Roque applied for asylum in the Netherlands even before the arrest order was issued. Panelo, however, believes the best course of action for Roque is to return to the Philippines.
“Well, if I were him, since he is a lawyer and the complaints against him are for a criminal case, he should just return and face it, if his claims that he is not involved are true. That will be easily proven because, in the first place, the burden rests on the prosecution. If the prosecution cannot prove that, then sorry, he cannot be convicted,” Panelo said.
“I think his problem is that it’s a heinous crime. The bottom line is, he cannot be easily granted temporary freedom, he will be immediately jailed, and he has to file a petition for bail. But it’s possible for him to immediately file a petition for bail, and the prosecution will have to prove with strong evidence that he is guilty, or otherwise he will be released.)
According to Panelo, people might think that Roque is guilty because he continues to avoid arrest.
READ: De Lima to Roque: Flight is indicative of guilt
“If he doesn’t go home, you know the people, us Filipinos, we think that if a person does not face accusations, he or she is guilty already. Whether that’s right or wrong, that would be the perception of people. So if I were him, I would go home,” he said./mcm/abc
