Harry Roque

Evading House arrest, Harry Roque went to UAE

Jairo Bolledo

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Evading House arrest, Harry Roque went to UAE

HARRY ROQUE. Former presidential spokesman Atty. Harry Roque, attends the resumption of the senate investigation on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), on July 29, 2024.

Angie de Silva/Rappler

(2nd UPDATE) The Department of Justice says the former presidential spokesperson subscribed to his counter-affidavit for his trafficking suit in Abu Dhabi

MANILA, Philippines – Former Malacañang spokesperson Harry Roque has left the country and was supposed to be in the Middle East, the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed on Tuesday, December 3.

Evading House arrest, Harry Roque went to UAE

Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said Roque, who faces a non-bailable trafficking complaint, has subscribed to his counter-affidavit while in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

“According to the panel, a counter-affidavit was submitted by the lawyers of Harry Roque. It would appear that he had a document which was notarized, pero doon siya sa (but he was there in) Abu Dhabi,” Fadullon told reporters.

Roque subscribed to his affidavit before the Philippine embassy in Abu Dhabi on November 29.

In a video posted on his Facebook page, Roque claimed that he had already left the UAE.

“Well, I had to have my sworn statement notarized. I came to [the] UAE just for the purpose of notarizing that,” Roque added, but refused to answer media queries on how he was able to leave the country.

Roque was able to leave the country despite a standing House quad committee arrest order. The panel is probing Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). The mega panel again ordered his arrest on September 12 after he was cited in contempt due to non-compliance to the panel’s subpoena.

Prior to that, the House quad committee ordered his detention within the House premises in August, after he was cited in contempt for lying about his absence from an August 16 congressional inquiry.

Roque also successfully evaded Philippine authorities despite an immigration lookout order against him. Hold departure orders (HDOs) are stronger mechanisms that can prevent a person from leaving the country, while an ILO merely places people on high alert with stricter mechanisms to monitor where they are going.

It remains unclear why Roque decided to go to the UAE for the notarization process.

Another former Duterte official, Michael Yang, owns properties in Dubai. Yang and business partner Lin Weixiong — both tagged in the controversial Pharmally scandal — had bought P1 billion worth of properties in the Middle East, a Rappler investigation found. Like Roque, Yang’s brother, Tony Yang, is also implicated in illegal POGOs.

Although a case has yet to be filed against Roque, the DOJ’s other option was to apply for a precautionary HDO (PHDO) – a fairly new HDO meant for prosecutors to prevent flight of a suspect while they resolve complaints. 

This what also happened in the of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo who, like Roque, was also tagged in the POGO mess. Guo successfully left the country even though she was in the lookout bulletin.

Roque, Cassandra Ong, and others face non-bailable criminal complaints over their alleged ties to POGO firm Lucky South 99, raided by authorities earlier this year.

Hontiveros: ‘BI still has a lot of explaining to do’

Senator Risa Hontiveros said she expected the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and Philippine authorities “to identify at the soonest possible time who helped Harry Roque escape undetected.”

“Ang Dubai ay isang POGO hub kaya baka mga POGO actors din ang tumulong sa kanya. The BI still has a lot of explaining to do. Kahit ang pagtakas ni Guo Hua Ping papuntang Indonesia, wala pa rin silang sagot kung paano nangyari,” she said.

(Dubai is a POGO hub so POGO actors may have helped him. The BI still has a lot of explaining to do. It has yet to answer questions on how Guo Hua Ping fled to Indonesia.)

Hontiveros contrasted this to how many ordinary Filipinos have go through the wringer at immigration when they have to go abroad.

“POGO is officially banned in the country kaya dapat wala nang anumang impluwensya ang mga taga-POGO sa ating mga institusyon, lalo na sa ating Immigration (so they should not have any influence on our institutions, especially our immigration),” she said. – Rappler.com

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Jairo Bolledo

Jairo Bolledo is a multimedia reporter at Rappler covering justice, police, and crime.
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