BY VICTOR REYES and WENDELL VIGILIA
POLICE chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil yesterday said PNP tracker teams have been mobilized to locate and arrest former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who is now considered a “fugitive” by the House of Representatives.
Roque was recently ordered arrested by the House’s quad committee after he was cited in contempt for failing to submit subpoenaed documents in connection with the panel’s ongoing probe on the operations of illegal offshore gaming hubs.
“We have officially received the request from the House of Representatives, and the PNP is fully committed to executing this order while adhering to our core mandate,” said Marbil.
Marbil said the PNP teams assigned to track down Roque will ensure justice is served.
“Our fundamental duty is to respect the decisions of our democratic institutions and ensure human rights are protected throughout this process,” he said, adding that the PNP will provide “timely updates” on the progress of the operation.
‘FACE US’
At the House, lawmakers slammed Roque “for not being man enough” to face the House quadruple committee’s investigation into his alleged links to POGOs, saying “flight is an indication of guilt.”
“Flight is often an indication of guilt. If Mr. Roque had nothing to hide, he would face the committee and submit the necessary documents. His refusal to comply only raises suspicions among lawmakers,” said Sta. Rosa Rep. Dan Fernandez, chair of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety and is one of the quad committee’s chairmen.
He said the House of Representatives “is not acting arbitrarily” and is “simply seeking the truth.” “Mr. Roque is responsible for clearing his name if he believes these allegations are baseless. Dodging the inquiry only raises more questions,” he said.
“There’s an old saying — if you have nothing to hide, you hide nothing. His actions are telling. If he had no involvement with illegal POGO activities, he should have nothing to fear from cooperating with the committee,” he added.
Roque, who is believed to have gone into hiding, earlier declared that he would not surrender to the quad comm, which is also looking into the operations of illegal POGOs, the proliferation of illegal drugs, and the extra-judicial killings (EJKs) under the Duterte administration.
In an earlier interview with reporters, Roque also said he will file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus before the Supreme Court in case he is arrested by legislative authorities, and a petition for certiorari, alleging that the quad committee abused its discretion in requesting private documents.
Surigao Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chair of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs and designated head of the quad committee, said Roque is “considered a fugitive from justice by defying the quad comm’s order to place him under detention.”
“We welcome whatever legal challenge he may opt to against the quad comm. Mr. Roque can run but he cannot hide from the law. Once arrested and he files his petitions or legal remedy before the Supreme Court, the quad comm will respect and abide with whatever decision the High Court would dish out,” Barbers said.
“But he needs to get arrested first before he can file those petitions before the Supreme Court,” he added.
Habeas corpus is a legal action which detainees can seek court relief from unlawful imprisonment, while a petition for certiorari and prohibition raises constitutional issues to review and/or prohibit or nullify the acts of legislative and executive officials.
Barbers pointed out that the fugitive definition in the United States legal system “is any person who is hiding from law enforcement officials to avoid arrest.”
“The fugitive meaning in most jurisdictions can mean someone who has an arrest warrant that is evading law and avoiding punishment. This is where the fugitive from justice phrase comes from,” he said.
Roque was cited in contempt for the second time last week for not submitting documents such as business records, his and his wife’s income tax returns (ITR) in Biancham Corporation, and his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) from 2016 to 2022.
The four committees have also required the trust agreement which Roque mentioned when he was asked about the transfer of his shareholdings to lawyer Persival Ortega in 2020.
The quad committee has rejected Roque’s motion to quash the joint panel’s order for him to submit the financial papers and other documents following the revelations of his alleged link to the operations of the raided Porac, Pampanga POGO Lucky South 99.
“Refusing to submit subpoenaed documents and avoiding the committee’s summons only deepens the shadow of doubt hanging over him,” Barbers said. “Roque should set an example, not avoid accountability. If he continues to resist, it will only reinforce the public’s perception that he is guilty of the allegations.”
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, chair of the House Committee on Human Rights and also a quad committee chair, agreed that flight is an indication of guilt, stressing that “the law applies to everyone.”
“Roque’s actions are not about standing up for his rights — they are about avoiding accountability. He is not above the law,” he said. “Congress has the authority to investigate, and his defiance only fuels suspicion that he is trying to conceal evidence that can incriminate him.”
“Roque’s refusal to cooperate with the House shows that, one, he is afraid of what we may uncover; and two, that he believes that the law does not apply to him. This is unbecoming of a former Cabinet member and a former member of Congress,” Abante said.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro earlier said that in the course of the quad committee’s investigation, lawmakers discovered a sudden increase in Roque’s assets, from only P125,000 before 2016 to P125 million in 2018. Roque served as presidential spokesperson during this time.
“If he (Roque) will not be able to prove the legal and valid source of this sudden increase of assets of his family-owned Biancham, then there is reasonable ground to believe that indeed he is connected with POGO operations, and this money possibly came from POGO operations,” said Luistro.
Roque’s alleged linked to POGOs came to light after he asked Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chair Alejandro Tengco to help Cassandra Li Ong, and even accompanied her, during the two’s meeting last year.
Ong, who has been detained at the House, continue to deny being an incorporator of Lucky South 99, saying she was working for Whirlwind Corp. which only leased its land and buildings to Lucky South 99.
Roque, who has accused the joint panel of politically persecuting him for being a critic of the Marcos Jr. administration, has said he was only lawyering for Whirlwind and not Lucky South.
