Former presidential spokesperson Herminio “Harry” L. Roque on Tuesday, Oct. 29, denied his reported involvement in the qualified human trafficking allegedly committed by Lucky South 99, a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga that was raided and shut down by the government.
Roque told journalists: "Gawa-gawa lang po ito at ang kanilang intention para tuluyan na akong supilin bilang isang alyado ng Duterte administration (the case against me is fabricated and meant to shut me up as an ally of the administration former President Rodrigo R. Duterte.”
“Kaya naman po hindi nakapagtataka ang pagsampa ng kaso sa akin kasabay ng anunsyo ng Kamara na sasampahan din nila ng kasong plunder si VP Sara at yung matagal ng sinasabi ng quad committee na sasampahan nila ng kasong crimes against humanity ang dating Presidente Rodrigo Roa Duterte (That’s why I am not surprised that the case was filed against me at the time the House of Representatives quad committee announced that it will file a plunder case against Vice President Sara Duterte and crimes against humanity against her father, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte),” he said.
On Monday, Oct. 28, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) filed a supplemental complaint before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on top of the qualified trafficking in persons complaint they filed last Sept. 10 against Lucky South 99 representative Katherine Cassandra Li Ong and 53 other respondents.
The supplemental complaint named as respondents Roque, Mercides Peralta Macabasa and Ley Tan.
“Ang ibig sabihin po nito, nung una sila nagsampa ng kaso, wala talaga silang ebidensya na nakalap laban sa akin for qualified human trafficking (This means, when they first filed the complaint last Sept. 10, they could not find any evidence against me for qualified human trafficking),” said Roque.
Refuting the statements made by Deputy City Prosecutor Darwin Canete who was part of the team that filed the supplemental complaint, Roque said he was never an officer of Lucky South 99 nor was he a lawyer of the company.
He cited that there was no document that showed he was one of the officers of Lucky South 99, and that Ong has already testified before the House of Representatives and the Senate that it was a mistake that his name was included in the document.
Roque admitted he was the legal counsel of Whirlwind Corporation where Ong is also an officer but not Lucky South 99 which leases the property owned by Whirlwind in Porac.
He also denied the allegations in the complaint that his executive assistant Alberto Rodulfo Dela Serna stayed in the premises of Lucky South 99.
“Kung titingnan nyo po yung testimonya ng aking assistant, siya po ay natutulog lang doon at yung kanyang pinagtutulogan ay hiwalay kung saan ginagawa ang negosyo at ni minsan hindi nga niya nakita kung anong operasyon ng POGO dahil hiwalay nga po yan dun sa lugar na kanyang pinagtirahan (If you will look at the testimony of my assistant, he slept at a place separate from where Lucky South 99 is doing business and had never witnessed the operation of the POGO because it was a separate facility),” he added.