FORMER presidential spokesperson Harry Roque yesterday confirmed he has fled the country as he submitted his counter-affidavit on the qualified trafficking in persons complaint filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) over his suspected involvement in the operation of an Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGOs) in Porac, Pampanga.
In a Zoom meeting with reporters, Roque said the counter-affidavit submitted by his camp was subscribed in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“Naghain ako ngayon ng aking counter-affidavit at itong counter affidavit na ito ay sinumpaan ko sa harap ng Philippine Consulate sa Abu Dhabi, UAE (I submitted my counter affidavit today and I personally subscribed my counter affidavit before the Philippine Consulate in Abu Dhabi, UAE),” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon said Roque, through his lawyers, submitted a counter affidavit in connection with the complaint against him from Abu Dhabi.
“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 but he was in Abu Dhabi. So, the panel opted to give the respondent a chance to call for a clarificatory hearing which would be scheduled anytime between now and the 16th of December,” Fadullon told reporters.
CLARIFICACTORY HEARING
Fadullon said the purpose of the clarificatory hearing is to clarify certain issues and to find out the whereabouts of Roque.
“Under our rules, the prosecutor is given the opportunity and should be given the opportunity to examine whoever it is who submits counter affidavits. And in this particular case, the whereabouts of Mr. Harry Roque is unknown to us. Now, even if he submits a counter affidavit, it does not mean we will just accept it. Kasi, number one, wala siya sa jurisdiction ng aming panel dito sa Pilipinas (Number one, [his location] is not under our jurisdiction). The only way we can consider that is if he executes the affidavit before the embassy of the country where he is at that particular time,” he explained.
He said the counter affidavit should be notarized “within Philippine territory, that is in the embassy of the Philippines in Abu Dhabi.”
While confirming he filed the counter affidavit in Abu Dhabi, Roque said he has already left the UAE.
“I am no longer in Abu Dhabi. I went to Abu Dhabi para ma-subscribe yan (to subscribe [to my counter-affidavit) but I am no longer in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
He declined to answer when asked how he managed to leave the country.
“No comment. But I am still outside of the country,” he said.
Roque also stressed he no longer has to attend a clarificatory hearing by the DOJ because he took his oath before a Philippine consul.
“If they want to verify if ako ay sumipot, tawagan nila ‘yung consul at tawagan nila ‘yung ambassador na personally present nung ako ay nanumpa (If they want to verify if I went there, they can call the consul and the ambassador who were present when I took the oath),”he said, adding he is confident the consul and the ambassador will not lie about his presence.
He said the Rules does not specifically mandate that he should appear in a clarificatory hearing, adding that what it specified is that one should take an oath before a government official with the authority to provide the oath.
“Kung sila ay duda na ako ay sumipot, kontakin nila yung consul, si ambassador (If they doubt that I appeared [before the Philippine Consulate, they can contact the consul and the ambassador). I do not have the power to require the attendance of either vice consul Gomez or ambassador Ver. Sila ang dapat makipag ugnayan sa embassy natin sa UAE (They should be the one to contact our embassy in UAE),” he added, apparently referring to Vice Consul Kevin Mark Gomez and Ambassador Alfonso Ferdinand Ver.
Fadullon said they could not just consider the counter affidavit as it was not “apostilled.”
“Unfortunately, we have no way of verifying whether these documents are documents that we can consider for purposes of resolving the case dahil sa ito ay hindi apostilled (because it was not apostilled). Normally, if you are outside of the country, for you to submit any document that can be considered here, it should be apostilled at the very least,” he said, adding the affidavit was dated November 29.
An apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document. It is issued by a country that is party to the Apostille Convention to be used in another country which is also a party to the Convention. On 14 May 2019, the Philippines became a party to the Apostille Convention.
Fadullon also insisted on the need, even via video conferencing, for the prosecutor to examine and make sure that the one who executed the counter affidavit was really Roque.
In a statement late last night, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Tess Daza confirmed that Roque was “with his wife Mylah Roque when they availed themselves of consular services at the PH Embassy in Abu Dhabi last Nov. 29.”
“The Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi extended consular services to Mr. and Mrs. Roque, as required for documents executed abroad for use in the Philippines. They were able to present valid passports and appear to be staying in the UAE legally,” Daza said.
HOLD DEPARTURE
The DOJ has issued an immigration lookout bulletin order on Roque after the quad committee.
Fadullon said they have already applied for a hold departure against Roque but admitted that if he is already out of the country, then “it might be quantified to be a problem for us.”
He added that they are coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration on the matter.
“Just to find out when it is that he was able to leave the country. And if he did, in fact, leave the country,” he added.
Earlier, National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago said they have received unverified information that the former presidential spokesperson has already fled the country.
Authorities initially charged Lucky South 99 authorized representative Katherine Cassandra Li Ong and others before the DOJ.
Roque was included in the supplemental complaint filed last October.
In its complaint, the PAOCC and PNP-CIDG alleged that despite Roque’s denials, narratives from resource persons indicated that he actively participated in the operations of Lucky South 99, including representing the company alongside Ong in a meeting with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation for the renewal of its license.
They cited the confirmation made by Pagcor assistant vice president Jessa Mariz Fernandez on July 26, 2023 that Roque and Ong discussed Lucky South 99’s debt of $456,593 which they attributed to alleged fraud by another respondent, former Technology Livelihood Resource Center chief Dennis Cunanan.
They added that witness accounts from local and foreign POGO workers outlined the alleged abuses at the Porac facility, which included human trafficking, kidnapping, illegal detention, and cybercrime fraud.
“These pieces of evidence show the direct participation of respondent Roque in the furtherance of the illegal activity of Lucky South 99. Roque’s deep-seated involvement with Lucky South 99 and Whirlwind is further bolstered by the presence of his Executive Assistant in the person of Mr. Alberto Rudolfo Dela Serna living inside the compound of Lucky South 99 for free and who maintains a joint bank account with respondent Roque,” the complaint said.
“Respondent Roque benefitted from the fruits of the trafficking in persons operations and other illegal activities of Lucky South 99 and Whirlwind and he kept silent about it. As an officer of Lucky South 99, respondent Roque knows that there is something not right about what is happening inside the compound and he intentionally withheld such information from the police or from any law enforcement agents,” it added.
It said that Roque could not claim that he did not know what was happening inside the POGO compound as he was privy, through Dela Serna, to all the activities of Lucky South 99 and Whirlwind.
Roque stressed there was no evidence indicating that he participated in the acts of trafficking, namely recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, obtaining, offering, hiring, providing or receiving a person purportedly trafficked.
“Neither was there a conspiracy,” he said, adding the only evidence presented by the PNP and the PAOCC is his accompanying Ong to a meeting with the executives of Pagcor.
Roque went into hiding after the quad committee of the House of Representatives investigating the alleged illegal activities of POGOs in the country issued an arrest order for him after he failed to submit documents subpoenaed by the panel, including his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, that he previously promised he will provide the committee.
Last October, the Supreme Court junked the petition for the issuance of a writ of amparo filed by Roque’s daughter seeking to stop the House probe.
The SC held that amparo is not the proper remedy against congressional contempt and detention orders.
A writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty, and security has been violated or is threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official, employee, or private individual.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, in a separate statement Tuesday night, said: “Flight is an evidence of guilt. He likely left the country via illegal means, possibly aided by unscrupulous means.”
“He most probably falsified immigration clearances to be accepted by his destination country,” Viado said.
He added: “BI is also mulling filing falsification of public documents, among other possible charges that may be filed against him. It’s impossible that he left via formal ports. His name is in the BI’s lookout bulletin, and he is a very well-known public figure. You can spot him miles away.”
