Hontiveros says Chinese fugitive arrest in house tied to Roque 'strange'

Senator Risa Hontiveros said it was "strange" that the Chinese fugitive who was supposedly involved in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) operations in Bamban, Tarlac was found in a house in Tuba, Benguet which former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said he has "interest in."

The lawmaker made the statement as she shared the International Criminal Police Organization's (Interpol) red notice on Sun Liming, who was tagged in the document as a "fugitive wanted for prosecution."

"Hindi lang basta-bastang Chinese ang nagtago sa sinasabing bahay ni Harry Roque. Itong si Sun Liming ay bigating pugante na nasa Red Notice ng Interpol," Hontiveros said in a statement.

(The person who hid in the supposed house of Harry Roque is not just any ordinary Chinese. Sun Liming is a big-time fugitive who is in Interpol's Red Notice.)

"Kaya nakapagtataka na sa dami ng bahay sa Pilipinas kay Roque pa talaga napunta ang pugante (That's why it's strange that out of so many houses in the Philippines, the fugitive went to Roque's house)," she said, adding that, "It appears this fugitive and Roque run in the same circles."

In the last Senate hearing, Roque admitted being an incorporator of a company that owns the residential house in Tuba, Benguet where two foreigners believed to be linked to POGOs were arrested.

Citing information from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, Hontiveros said that Sun Liming served as IT manager of Lucky South 99, the raided POGO firm in Porac, Pampanga.

It was also the same POGO firm that "Roque helped to appeal for their debts in PAGCOR," Hontiveros said.

To recall, PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro Tengco said in a previous Senate hearing that Roque accompanied Kassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99, in a meeting with him last July 2023 to raise the POGO firm's unpaid arrears and license reapplication.

Roque had said that he only accompanied Ong because she is the corporate secretary of Whirlwind Corporation, which is one of his clients. Whirlwind was the lessor of Lucky South 99.

"Nakakabahala ang dami ng mga dayuhang kriminal na sa bansa dahil sa POGO (The number of foreign criminals in the country because of POGO is concerning). While a ban was already announced, we in the Senate need to craft measures to ensure that this industry never comes back again," Hontiveros said.

'Had we known this'

Responding to Hontiveros' statement, Roque said he was willing to cooperate with the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the Bureau of Immigration, and the Embassy of China to bring the Chinese fugitive to justice.

"We were unaware that our lessee had allowed a wanted person in China to stay in our corporate property. Had we known this, we would have informed our law enforcers. In this regard, we sincerely apologize to the Chinese authorities," Roque said.

Roque added that the government "has yet to fully ascertain Mr. Sun Liming's connection to illegal internet gaming operations in the Philippines" and Hontiveros should leave the investigation to the police.

"Senator Hontiveros should leave the police investigation matters to the police. For now, Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said they are still probing Mr. Sun Liming's alleged links with illegal POGOs," Roque said.

Roque also took a swipe at Hontiveros and urged the senator to "stop turning the ongoing government probe on illegal POGOs or Internet Gaming Licen(s)ees (IGL) into a political witch hunt of individuals, including myself, who are very close to the Duterte family."

"The lawmaker should also cease her malicious insinuations that I am involved in illegal POGOs. I would never counsel or abet the activities of personalities and online gaming firms that defy the law and undermine the legal profession," Roque said in a statement sent to GMA News Online.

"Essentially, she is barking off the wrong tree. The Dutertes and their associates are not behind the proliferation of illegal POGOs since 2022," he added. — VDV, GMA Integrated News