Harry Roque assisted illegal POGO – PAGCOR chief

MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque was the ex-Cabinet official who tried to facilitate the grant of a license to a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) hub, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) chairman Alejandro Tengco told a Senate panel yesterday.

During the continuation of the public hearing of the Senate committee on women, children and family affairs chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Tengco clarified that Roque did not exert pressure, but merely assisted in the dealings of the Lucky South 99 POGO with PAGCOR in July last year.

Tengco said Roque and Lucky South 99 representative Cassandra Lee Ong met with him and Jessa Mariz Fernandez, PAGCOR assistant vice president for offshore gaming licensing department, on July 26, 2023.

“Former secretary Harry Roque came with a woman and he introduced us… He said that Ms. Cassandra Lee Ong has a problem about her paying all the billings of the company she represents in PAGCOR,” Tengco recalled.

Hontiveros said Roque and former PAGCOR chair Andrea Domingo will be invited to the next hearing to shed light on the information shared by Tengco.

Tengco said that Ong claimed their company owed over $500,000 (about P29 million) in arrears but their company had been coursing their financial obligations through Dennis Cunanan as the authorized company representative.

“She (Ong) claimed that she gives the money to Mr. Dennis Cunanan every month and she believes that it is paid to PAGCOR. So they were surprised when their office said that they have arrears of six months. That’s about $500,000,” he added.

Tengco said he asked Ong why she trusted Cunanan instead of going directly to the Landbank to settle their account with PAGCOR, to which Ong claimed she trusted Cunanan as he facilitated the license of their company. Tengco said Ong was just 19 years old and too young to represent the company.

Tengco’s statement appeared to be short of his statement that a former high-ranking official of the previous administration lobbied for the licensing of the illegal POGO in Porac.

At yesterday’s hearing, Tengco maintained Roque did not pressure PAGCOR to grant Lucky South 99 a license.

“He requested us to assist Cassandra Ong, if possible. He did not make any follow-up,” said Tengco. “I will repeat it, he didn’t pressure me. Well, maybe as a lawyer – as his client. He is just facilitating and he was just requesting.”

Fernandez also told the Senate panel that Roque called her office six times and one of them was to ask for the documents needed for the POGO hub to be granted a license.

“He made six contacts – three were answered, two were not answered and one text message. And then on May 14, 2024, I informed him of the PAGCOR decision denying Lucky South’s application because we have seen evidence – of a reason not to grant them a license at that time,” said Fernandez.

Hontiveros said Roque contradicted his statement to the media that he represented only Whirlwind, the company that leased its property to Lucky South 99.

“This is contrary to what he said, his representation is just Whirlwind. But here in the organization chart of the Lucky South 99, it’s clear that he was the legal (counsel). He did not tell the truth to the media,” she said.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada asked Tengco whether Roque was just doing his job as a lawyer, to which the PAGCOR chairman replied: “You can say that. He said he wants to help the aggrieved party as Miss Ong’s lawyer. And a new application came out in September 2023, that’s the legal one.”

Roque denies story

Roque on Wednesday vehemently denied Tengco’s statements that he represented an illegal POGO.

“I am not and have never been a legal counsel to any illegal POGO. Neither was I counsel to Lucky South 99 Incorporated. I also did not participate in preparing Lucky South’s organizational chart, which identified me as their legal counsel. I vehemently deny media reports claiming that PAGCOR chairman Alejandro Tengco allegedly said that I represented an illegal POGO,” Roque said on his Facebook vlog.

Roque also said Hontiveros’ conclusion that he lied when he claimed that he was Whirlwind’s counsel was bereft of merit.

“I clarify that I did not consent to nor was I informed of my name’s inclusion in any submission by Lucky South with the PAGCOR concerning license renewal. If her only basis is the organizational chart naming me as legal counsel of Lucky South 99, then I challenge her to prove that I had a direct hand in preparing the said document,” Roque added.

Roque said Whirlwind recently retained his firm to quash a search warrant in a residential dwelling in Porac mistakenly described as a “resort” by police authorities.

“I have no reason to deny my legal engagement with Lucky South if there is truth to it. Providing legal representation is why the legal profession exists. But the reality is that an attorney-client relationship is of the highest fiduciary relationship and cannot be presumed unless there is a clear retainer between counsel and client.”

“As a lawyer, I could not directly engage with the POGO because of a potential conflict of interest and given the soured lease contract between Whirlwind and Lucky South,” he noted.

Bank documents found

Bank documents of the former presidential spokesman were found inside Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said yesterday.

PAOCC spokesman Winston Casio showed reporters the pictures of some documents they recovered during the raid at the POGO hub last month. Among these are bank transaction receipts.

Also found are documents belonging to a person whom authorities said was Roque’s former executive assistant.

The PAOCC made the documents public after PAGCOR’s Tengco said Roque assisted Lucky South 99 on its financial issues.

Yang, Pharmally link

An incorporator of a POGO company is connected with the equally controversial Pharmally firm linked to the overpriced COVID-19 supplies, Hontiveros said on Wednesday.

During the continuation of the public hearing probing alleged human trafficking in Clark, Hontiveros said a certain Gerald Cruz, an incorporator of BreakHearts Technology, is connected with Pharmally Biological.

“That BreakHearts Technology Inc., which used to be a service provider, we dug deeper and we looked at its incorporators. Of the seven incorporators, four are from Davao. But what really interests me here is Gerald Cruz. Did Cruz appear in PAGCOR’s investigation?” Hontiveros asked Fernandez.

On Powerpoint Hontiveros showed Cruz’s connection with Pharmally.

“Cruz was also connected to Pharmally Biological; we are exclaiming, ‘Oh my God.’ With Huang Su Yen, involved in a big money laundering case in Taiwan, and with Allan Lim. For those who may have forgotten, Allan Lim is Lyn Wei Ziong, connected or linked to the importation of shabu in the country. Has this connection been noted by PAGCOR?” the senator asked.

Fernandez said they noted Cruz’s connection with Pharmally just recently. The Pharmally scandal involved an alleged P42-billion corruption in the government procurement of COVID-19 supplies in August 2021.

Hontiveros noted that Cruz is also involved in FullWin, of which Michael Yang is the president. Yang served as the economic adviser during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte — Delon Porcalla, Ramon Efren Lazaro, Bella Cariaso, Emmanuel Tupas