House orders Harry Roque detained for lying to lawmakers

MANILA, Philippines – A House mega panel investigating the proliferation of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) cited former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in contempt on Thursday, August 22, for supposedly lying before the committee about his schedule.

Lawmakers also voted to detain him within House premises for 24 hours as a penalty.

The so-called quad committee invited Roque to attend House proceedings on August 16, but Roque asked on August 13 to be excused, citing a scheduled court hearing at a regional trial court (RTC) in Manila on the day of the congressional inquiry.

Kabayan Representative Ron Salo, who raised the motion to cite Roque in contempt, said he had obtained from the clerk of court of the RTC of Manila a certification which stated that Roque had no scheduled court appearance on August 16.

“I hate to say this, but clearly, Attorney Harry Roque, a former secretary and my former professor, lied to this committee, and that amounts to disrespect on the members of the committee which is contemptible,” Salo said.

Roque claimed it was an “honest mistake,” explaining he had asked to be excused because he thought that the quad committee hearing was scheduled on August 15, a Thursday.

“I’ve also been a member of this chamber. We don’t hold hearings on Friday. When I saw the notice of hearing, I assumed that just like the first and the second hearing where I attended, that it would be on a Thursday. And that is true, that I had a hearing both in the morning and the afternoon,” Roque said.

“By the time I realized it was a Friday and there was in fact a hearing, it was already close to lunch time, and the hearing was in Pampanga. I apologize for the honest mistake,” he added.

Roque has been a constant resource person during the House’s investigation into the rise of POGOs in the country, as lawmakers try to establish his ties to a raided POGO company in Porac, Pampanga.

Roque had been a lawyer for real estate firm Whirlwind in August 2023 in an ejectment case. The company was connected to Lucky South 99 because it leased its land to the POGO firm. Roque was also hired for Whirlwind by Cassy Li Ong, who is Lucky South 99’s representative to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).

Roque later accompanied Ong to a meeting with Pagcor over Lucky South 99’s remittances, even though he insists to this day that he never lawyered for that firm. But Pagcor chief Alejandro Tengco said the discussion during that meeting never touched upon Whirlwind, because Pagcor had no relationship with Whirlwind.

Roque has insisted that he did not commit any crime, and no paper trail established a direct lawyer-client relationship between him and Lucky South 99. – Rappler.com