Duterte point man helped POGO reapply for license, Senate told
By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter and Chloe Mari A. Hufana
EX-PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte’s spokesman in 2023 lawyered for an offshore gaming operator in Porac, Pampanga province that the state has linked to human trafficking, the gaming regulator told senators on Wednesday.
Former palace spokesman Herminio “Harry” L. Roque sought an audience in July 2023 on behalf of Lucky South 99, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro H. Tengco told a hearing.
They later met to discuss the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator’s (POGO) unpaid taxes worth $500,000 (P29 million) in July last year and its application for a license two months later, he added.
“He was not demanding,” Mr. Tengco said in Filipino. “He did not actually pressure me, but as a lawyer, he was probably just accompanying his client.”
Mr. Roque “vehemently” denied lawyering for the POGO, whose hub was raided by law enforcers last month.
“I requested a rescheduling of arrears payment of a lessee and principal of my client Whirlwind Corp., a service provider to Lucky South, then a holder of a valid license from Pagcor,” he said in a Facebook video.
“I did not consent to nor was I informed of my name’s inclusion in any submission by Lucky South with Pagcor concerning license renewal,” he added.
He said he had met with Pagcor officials because he thought Lucky South 99 had fallen victim to estafa.
“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,” Mr. Roque said.
At the Senate hearing, Mr. Tengco showed the organizational chart of the offshore gambling firm, which listed Mr. Roque as being part of “legal.”
Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros, who heads the committee on women and children, invited Mr. Roque to the next hearing. At the same hearing, Pagcor Assistant Vice President Jessa Mariz R. Fernandez said Mr. Roque had also contacted her at least six times to ask about documents needed to renew Lucky South’s gaming license.
Pagcor denied the company’s application in May, she added.
Also on Wednesday, the Senate body committee cited suspended Bamban Mayor Alice L. Guo and her associates in contempt for failing to attend the Senate investigation of illegal POGOs.
Ms. Hontiveros said she would ask Senate President Francis G. Escudero to consider issuing an arrest order against the mayor, whom the committee had also linked to Chinese espionage.
The Senate president earlier said he would approve an arrest warrant against the mayor if the panel sought one.
The National Bureau of Investigation earlier confirmed that Ms. Guo’s fingerprints matched those of a Chinese national named Guo Hua Ping.
On Tuesday, the mayor cited mental health issues for failing to attend the hearing. She has asserted her innocence, insisting that she is a Filipino citizen.
“It’s unfair to those with genuine mental health conditions,” Senator Maria Lourdes S. Binay-Angeles said at the hearing. “Mental health is a serious issue and should not be used as an excuse for dishonesty.”
Mr. Tengco said Pagcor is coming out with guidelines on POGOs. “We’re already banning hubs.”
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto on Monday said he would consider recommending the ban of these gambling operations, mostly Chinese firms that operate online casinos, to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
Pagcor earlier said the government could lose P20 billion in yearly revenues if POGOs are banned.
Meanwhile, Ms. Guo asked the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the Senate from summoning her to its probe.
In a 78-page petition, the mayor said she had been adjudged guilty of all sorts of crimes, and her rights had been violated.
“Persons invited to appear before a legislative inquiry do so as resource persons and not as accused in a criminal proceeding,” she said. “They should be accorded respect and courtesy since they were under no compulsion to accept the invitation extended before them, yet they did so anyway.”
She named Ms. Hontiveros as the respondent.