Panelo to Roque: Come home and face charges
Former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo believes former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque is not a victim of political persecution, saying it appears his former colleague under the Duterte administration 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 on May 16 by an Angeles City, Pampanga court against Roque for human trafficking over his supposed links to Lucky South 99.
“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 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.”
During hearings conducted by the House of Representatives’ quad committee last year, documents bearing Roque’s signature related to the Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga, were presented. The documents were found after authorities raided Lucky South 99 to rescue 186 foreign and Filipino workers who said they were being held against their will.
Roque admitted before committee members that he accompanied Katherine Cassandra Ong, an incorporator of Whirlwind Corp., which leased land to the Pogo hub, to settle fees with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
House arrest order
In September, the former presidential spokesperson was cited for contempt and ordered arrested after he missed subsequent hearings and failed to submit documents being sought by the House panel.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the committee’s lead chair, said that Roque was not subject to a formal investigation, adding that they only wanted to know if his companies, Biancham Holdings and PH2 Corp., were connected to Lucky South 99.
This was after Chinese national Sun Liming was arrested in July last year as an illegal alien in Tuba, Benguet, where he was found hiding in a house co-owned by Roque.
Sun initially claimed to be a Cambodian national but he was later revealed to be connected to fraud cases in China aside from working for Lucky South 99.
Reacting to the court’s issuance of an arrest warrant against him, Roque said it was additional proof he was being persecuted for being critical of the Marcos administration. He is currently seeking asylum in the Hague where Duterte is awaiting trial before the International Criminal Court.
Burden of proof
“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,” he added.
According to Panelo, should Roque refuse to come home, people will presume him to be guilty. “Whether that’s right or wrong, that would be the perception of people. So if I were him, I would go home,” he said.
