Authorities searching for Harry Roque after House arrest order

Harry Roque — PHOTO FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FB PAGE

MANILA, Philippines — Authorities were looking for former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque following the House quad committee’s arrest order against him, House of Representatives Secretary General Reginald Velasco said on Friday.

“It was already served in his law firm, but he is not there, cannot be located. So the law enforcement agencies were informed to look for him and serve [the arrest] order,” Velasco told reporters in a phone interview, partly in Filipino.

Roque was invited to the House probe as he was allegedly linked to the operation of Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) which he repeatedly denied.

On Thursday, the House quad committee held Roque in contempt, and was ordered detained in the House for the second time.

The second contempt stemmed from Roque’s continued noncompliance with the lower chamber’s subpoena ordering him to submit his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth from 2016-2022, his and his wife Maila’s income tax returns from 2014-2022, and their respective medical certificates.

The panel also ordered Roque to submit the extrajudicial settlement of the estate including tax returns of his late aunt, and the deed of sale with tax returns and transfer of property of the 1.8-hectare property in Multinational Village in Parañaque City that his family sold.

Roque would be detained until he submits the documents or until the quad committee is dissolved.

On Thursday, Roque slammed the House panel’s move, calling it a “kangaroo court.”

READ: Harry Roque ordered detained anew; calls House panel a ‘kangaroo court’

Roque was also ordered detained last month, but only for 24 hours, for supposedly lying to the quad committee as to why he failed to attend the first hearing in Pampanga.

He is linked to Lucky South 99, the raided Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga, after documents with his signature were found by operatives, but Roque has repeatedly denied having any links with the Pogo hub.

“On the issue of Pogo, Cassandra Li Ong clearly stated that I was not a lawyer of Lucky South 99. This should be the end of the story,” Roque said in a statement on Thursday, referring to the official representative of unlicensed gambling hub Lucky South 99.