House panel orders Roque detained for second time
The House quad committee again cited former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in contempt and ordered his detention on Thursday, this time for his failure to submit documents subpoenaed by the joint panel.
The former mouthpiece of then President Rodrigo Duterte and now a vocal critic of the Marcos administration did not attend the hearing, his third time to miss the inquiry into the criminal activities tied to Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), among others.
One of the issues being tackled is Roque’s alleged connection to a Pogo hub in Pampanga that was raided in June.
The committee chair, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, ordered Roque’s detention at a designated facility at the Batasan complex until he submits the papers or until the inquiry on the Pogos is finished. It was not clear at press time if the House would issue a warrant for Roque’s arrest.
Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores made the motion to cite Roque in contempt, which was unanimously approved by the panel.
SALNs, income tax
The committee also denied Roque’s motion to quash the subpoena that required him to submit, among others, the deed of sale for a piece of land in Multinational Village, Parañaque City; documents on the transfer of shareholders of the company Biancham; 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.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro asked for the documents in view of findings that Roque’s assets grew during the boom years of Pogos under then President Duterte, his former boss.
Roque also helped a representative of Lucky South 99, the company that operated the raided Pogo in Porac, Pampanga, set up a meeting with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chair Alejandro Tengco in June 2023 about its unpaid arrears.
“It is the humble submission of this representation that the quad committee has established overwhelming circumstantial evidence showing the connection of Atty. Harry Roque to Lucky South 99, which is a Pogo operation,” Luistro said.
Earlier detention
Roque had denied being a lawyer for the Pogo, saying his client was Whirlwind Corp. the company that leased the land to Lucky South 99.
He also maintained that his assets came from the sale of a family property in Parañaque.
It is the second time for Roque to be cited for contempt and ordered detained by the panel.
On Aug. 22, he was made to spend 24 hours at the Batasan complex for “lying” about his reasons for missing the Aug. 16 quad comm hearing in Bacolor, Pampanga.
