Roque’s escape may have been aided by POGO players — Hontiveros
MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque may have been aided by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) players when he escaped the Philippines, a lawmaker said on Wednesday, December 4.
Roque allegedly left the Philippines through illegal means, slipping through authorities despite being on the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) Lookout Bulletin.
Opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who led the POGO hearings in the Senate, said that Dubai was a POGO hub.
“I expect the BI, along with our other law enforcers, to identify at the soonest possible time who helped Harry Roque escape undetected. Dubai is a POGO hub so maybe POGO actors helped him,” Hontiveros said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Hontiveros said that the BI still has some explaining to do as to how Alice Guo (also known as Guo Hua Ping) escaped the Philippines.
“Kapag mga ordinaryong Pilipino na lumalabas ng bansa, pahirapahan sa Immigration, pero kapag mga pugante, tila ang dali makalusot,” Hontiveros said.
(If it’s an ordinary Filipino who is leaving the country, they struggle with Immigration, but if it is a fugutive, it is so easy to slip through.)
Guo, despite having an outstanding arrest warrant from the Senate, was able to escape the Philippines, fleeing to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.
Roque, who faces a qualified human trafficking for his alleged involvement in POGO hub Lucky South 99, recently filed his counter-affidavit from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
While the Department of Foreign Affairs has stated that Roque appears to be in the UAE legally, the BI said that they are mulling to file cases against the former presidential spokesperson.
The BI suspects that Roque falsified his documents, as he had no recent travels through official channels.
Roque’s last official travel on BI records was a trip to Los Angeles, US in July this year.
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