Roque vows to expose POGO protectors at Senate hearing

NEW YORK — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Wednesday (PH time) said he would unmask protectors of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) when he attends a Senate hearing next week.

"I'm going to unveil a fact on the 29th of July at the hall of Senate," Roque said during the meet and greet with Filipino supporters of the Duterte family in Woodside, Queens.

According to Roque, who is currently in the United States for events organized by Hakbang ng Maisug in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington DC, the public needs to know who truly holds power over POGO in the Philippines.

"I was more than willing to face them without an invitation. I wanted to appear because I thought Chairman Tengco would accuse me of facilitating illegal POGO, but he didn't say that," said Roque, who served under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte,  during an interview with GMA Integrated News in New York.

"However, I believe I know who the real king and queen of POGO are," he added.

During a Senate investigation on July 10, Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said Roque helped a raided POGO firm in Porac, Pampanga, reapply for a license.

Tengco also clarified that Roque did not pressure them to grant the license to the said POGO firm.

According to Tengco, Roque was named as the head of Lucky South 99's legal department based on the POGO firm's organizational chart, which was submitted for their license reapplication. Roque has denied serving as counsel for the firm.

Alice Guo

Roque, however, did not deny that he once met suspended Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo at the house of the in-law of former Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez and had joined her in a rally in Bulacan.

Guo, whose Filipino citizenship is being questioned, is being linked to an illegal POGO hub that was raided by authorities in Bamban.

Roque is scheduled to appear before the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality on July 29.

The House Joint Committee on Public Order and Safety and Games and Amusement, meanwhile, also wants to question him about his alleged connection to POGO operations.

"They want to ruin me; they are suppressing me by linking me to POGO. They invited me to the Senate, very good. I'll give you a teaser, I will really expose who the protector of POGO is," he said.

Roque clarified that he has no plans to run for office in the 2025 midterm elections and that his criticisms against the Marcos administration are in defense of the rights of the Filipino people.

POGO ban

He also said that the Senate investigation into POGO should be stopped because President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has already declared in his recent State of the Nation Address the banning of all POGO operations in the country.

"I don’t know what they want because the President has already announced that POGO is now illegal, so the investigation should be over," Roque said. 

"It was in aid of legislation to ban POGO, and now that it is banned, I do not know what they still want to unveil." 

Roque insisted that he was never a lawyer for Lucky South Star 99, where the belongings of his former staff in Malacañang were seized during a raid by authorities in Porac, Pampanga. —KBK, GMA Integrated News