Raps filed vs. Harry Roque, Cassandra Ong over Porac POGO

Charges have been filed against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and Cassandra Li Ong over the Lucky South 99 POGO firm in Porac, Pampanga, Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said Monday.

According to Ty, qualified trafficking charges were filed against Roque, who is seeking asylum in the Netherlands; Ong, authorized representative of Lucky South 99; and more than 40 others before the Angeles City Regional Trial Court (RTC).

“Kasi diba ‘yung depensa naman ng mga iba diyan na sinasabi nila na magkahiwalay ‘yung Lucky South 99 tsaka ‘yung Whirlwind. Pero para sa mga piskal tinuring nila na iisang grupo,” Ty said in an ambush interview.

(The defense of some parties is that Lucky South 99 and Whirlwind are separate. But for the prosecutors, they treated them as one group.)

“Kay Ginoong Harry Roque, kay Attorney Roque... may lumabas doon na siya ay pumunta. Kahit na sinasabi niya na abugado lang siya ng Whirlwind siya ay pumunta sa office ng PAGCOR upang ipakiusap ang application ng Lucky South 99 para ma-renew ‘yung kanilang IGL,” he added.

(Regarding Mr. Harry Roque, Attorney Roque… it came out that he went there. Even though he claims he was only the lawyer for Whirlwind, he went to the PAGCOR office to appeal for the renewal of Lucky South 99’s IGL application.)

Ty said the case will be transferred to Pasig due to an order of the Supreme Court.

Following this, he said the court may issue an arrest warrant against the respondents, leading to their arrest. He said the the accused not in the country may be considered fugitives from justice.

“May ibang options na diyan ‘yung pamahalaan natin. Kasama na diyan ‘yung pagcancel nung kanilang passport, kasama na doon ‘yung paglagay sa kanila ng red list ng Interpol,” he said.

(Our government now has other options, including canceling their passports and placing them on Interpol’s red list.)

According to Ty, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has directed them to inform the Netherlands that the DOJ found probable cause to indict Roque.

“Papakita namin na talagang, ano talaga ito, walang kinalaman sa pulitika ito. This is really about the crime of human trafficking,” he said. 

(We will show that this truly has nothing to do with politics. This is really about the crime of human trafficking.)

Ong's camp has no comment, while in a statement Roque said the Marcos administration is "hell-bent on manufacturing cases" against him. He reiterated that he was a lawyer for Whirlwind but not Lucky South 99, and that his inclusion in the trafficking charge is "an unjust prosecution and a travesty of justice."

 "I will include this latest charge to my application for asylum as a victim of political persecution owing to my loyalty to the Dutertes. This is not flight as evidence of guilt but the exercise of a human right to asylum," added Roque, who is seeking asylum in The Netherlands. — BM, GMA Integrated News