Harry Roque’s letter found in Porac POGO hub 'not suspicious' —PAOCC

A letter bearing the name of former Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque recovered during a search in a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga is nothing suspicious, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).

“The document itself is innocent. The document is not of suspicious or criminal nature," said PAOCC spokesperson Winston John Casio at the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.

It was PAOCC Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz who disclosed about the letter that dated back in 2021 and was found recently inside the Lucky South 99 compound in Porac.

Casio, meanwhile, said that the PAOCC also found an affidavit of support stating that Roque will be the one funding the travel costs of his then executive assistant.

Roque served as a lawyer for Whirlwind Corporation which is the company that leased its property to Lucky South 99, according to Casio.

“If Mr. Roque was lawyering for Whirlwind Corporation, that in itself does not constitute any suspicious activity,” Casio said, adding that “there is nothing criminal if you are lawyering for the corporation.”

“Likewise, finding a document of his special assistant in one of the buildings does not also constitute suspicious activity,” he added.

The PAOCC official added that Roque’s former executive assistant is not being investigated by the body.

“I don’t want to impute malice because it would be unfair to [former] Secretary Roque… There is nothing suspicious about it,” he added.

Sought for comment, Roque told GMA News Online that the documents found were “just appointment paper of a former staffer… I believe his clearance was also found.”

“That's it. Nothing related to POGO,” Roque said.

The PAOCC, in an interview on Dobol B TV, said it is set to wrap up its search operation in the POGO hub in Porac. —VAL, GMA Integrated News