Escudero to Roque: Explain POGO link accusations

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SENATE President Francis Escudero yesterday said the allegation that former presidential spokesman Harry Roque was involved in a raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub is a serious accusation that the former Cabinet official should explain.

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) chairman Alejandro Tengco told the Senate Committee on Women in a hearing last Wednesday that Roque was the former government official who acted as a go-between Pagcor and Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Inc., the operator of the POGO facility in Porac, Pampanga that was recently raided by authorities.

Tengco said Roque facilitated a meeting between him and an iincorporator of the POGO hub in July last year to seek reconsideration for the firm’s unpaid $500,000 tax arrear.

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The Pagcor chief said Roque supposedly acted as legal counsel of the offshore gaming company at the time of the meeting.

Roque confirmed the meeting but denied that he was a legal counsel for Lucky South 99.

Roque said his connection was with Whirlwind Corporation, which is a service provider which owns the lot where the Lucky South 99 facility was built.

Escudero said: “Anyone accused of anything has a right to face his accuser and air his side. I believe that these are serious allegations which Sec. Roque should clarify and I believe that the committee will most likely invite him to get his side on this matter/issue.”

“I hope Sec. Roque will make use of this opportunity,” he added.

During last Wednesday’s committee hearing, Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros said Roque’s name appeared in the organizational chart of Lucky South 99 as its “legal” officer. The organization chart, she added, was one of the documents that Lucky South 99 attached to its application for a license to operate with Pagcor.

In an interview with radio dzBB yesterday, Tengco said Roque should question Lucky South 99 for including his name in its organizational chart.

“Nung nag-apply sila, may sinubmit silang organizational chart nakalagay po doon, may box doon…’legal’ Harry Roque. Kung hindi niya nakita yun at hindi niya in-authorize yun eh di hindi po siguro problema ng Pagcor yun dahil yun ay part of the submissions for the application of the renewal of license of that company (They submitted an organizational chart when they applied for a renewal of license. There is a box there which says ‘legal,’ Harry Roque. If he [Roque] did not see it and did not authorize it, then it is not the problem of Pagcor anymore because that was part of the submissions),” Tengco said.

“Dapat po kay Secretary Roque, ang i-confront niya ay si Cassandra Ong. Bakit nilagay mo ang pangalan ko diyan? (Secretary Roque should confront Cassandra Ong and ask her ‘Why did you put my name there?),” he added.

Ong was the authorized representative of Lucky South 99 whom Roque accompanied to the office of Tengco during the July 26, 2023 meeting.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III noted that Roque was no longer with the government when he got involved with Lucky South 99.

“Maybe he is practicing his profession which he is allowed to do under existing laws,” Pimentel said.

To cut the problems on POGOs, Pimentel said all President Marcos Jr. has to do is to order a stop on their operations throughout the country.

“President Bongbong should simply order Pagcor and other government agencies to stop POGO operations here in the Philippines. Stop giving licenses and permits. Give the legal ones one month to wind down their operations. Say goodbye to POGO,” he said.

Meanwhile, the legal team of former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) official Dennis Cunanan said their client is very much willing to attend the Senate hearing and cooperate.

Tengco has said told the panel that during their meeting last year, Ong blamed Cunanan for the unpaid tax payment.

Cunanan has been sentenced by the Sandiganbayan to 26 years imprisonment for his involvement in the pork barrel scam. He is out on bail pending the decision of the Supreme Court of his appeal.

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Cunanan’s legal team said their client did not receive the Senate panel’s invitation and learned that he was already cited in contempt only in the news.

In a message to the media, lawyer Iryl Boco, the legal counsel of Cunanan, said they will submit an explanation to the committee to justify his absence and file the necessary motion to lift the citation.

“Mr. Cunanan did not receive the subpoena issued by the Senate, which is why neither he nor any representative was able to attend the hearing… Basically, we did not know about the scheduled hearing and we only learned about it through the news as it was ongoing,” Boco said.

Cunanan is being sought at the Senate hearing after his name appeared as aiuthorized representative of the POGO hub that was raided in Porac, Pampanga.

Boco said: “We will give our comment about that through the proper forum.”

He said their team is looking at the Senate rules to determine what specific motion they will file that would apply to Cunanan.

Cunanan was cited in contempt along with suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and other resource persons for being absent the past hearings.

In a related development, the Philippine Navy yesrerday said it has launched a probe to shed light on how one of its officers was dragged into offshore gaming activities in the country.

In a statement, Navy spokesman Commander John Percie Alcos vouched for the integrity of Lt. Jessa Mendoza as an officer.

Mendoza, who has been tagged as an incorporator of some 193 POGOs, told the Senate panel on Wednesday she has no dealing any of the firms and narrated how she fell victim to identity theft.

Mendoza is a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 2014.

“As we take cognizance of the apparent commission of identity theft implicating the name of Lt. Jessa Mendoza – a Philippine Navy junior officer of good repute – as director or incorporator in several companies involved in offshore gaming activities and other businesses during the ongoing Senate inquiry, the Philippine Navy affirms our support to our fellow serviceman in her resolve to prove her innocence and clear her reputation,” said Alcos.

Mendoza said she received a notice from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in April last year about a tax deficiency linked to Xin Wanhao Online Game Technology, Inc. She said she did not give it much thought because she was not related to the company.

Five months later, she received another notice from the BIR for another tax deficiency, this time linked to one Handy International Prime Carry, Inc.

Mendoza said she was indicted for the alleged crimes and posted a bail of P108,000 to avoid imprisonment.

Last April, she learned from the Securities and Exchange Commission that she is listed as an incorporator of some 193 POGOs that used her Tax Identification Number and signature.

Mendoza said her cousin, who is married to a Chinese national, borrowed her TIN card sometime in 2016.” She said her cousin did not respond when she asked her what she will do with her TIN card. Nevertheless, she still gave her TIN card out of “respect, trust and confidence.”

“A formal internal inquiry was likewise initiated in close coordination with Lt. Mendoza aimed toward shedding light on how her name was dragged into this issue,” said Alcos.

“We can attest to Lt. Mendoza’s untarnished record in her decade of honorable service in the Philippine Navy, always upholding the core values and highest standards of being a respectable naval officer,” said Alcos.

Alcos reiterated the Navy’s call to all its personnel and even to all the public all Filipinos “to seriously practice safety precautions to prevent identity fraud especially in an increasingly digital world replete with cyber crimes.” — With Victor Reyes

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