The Bureau of Immigration (BI) should identify at the soonest possible time who helped former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque escaped the country undetected, two senators on Wednesday, December 4 said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, head of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, which is investigating the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO)-related crimes, made the call following reports Roque and his wife, Mylah, personally appeared before the Philippine embassy in Abu Dhabi on November 29 to file a counter affidavit in relation to the human trafficking charges filed against him.

This was disclosed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) after the BI said Roque likely left the country illegally.

The couple, according to the DFA, were able to present valid passport and seem to be staying in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) legally.

“I expect the BI, along with our other law enforcers, to identify at the soonest possible time who helped Harry Roque escape undetected. Ang Dubai ay isang POGO hub kaya baka mga POGO actors din ang tumulong sa kanya (Dubai is a POGO hub, that’s why another POGO actor helped him leave the country),” Hontiveros said.

“The BI still has a lot of explaining to do. Kahit ang pagtakas ni Guo Hua Ping papuntang Indonesia, wala pa rin silang sagot kung paano nangyari (They could not even have any explanation on how Guo Hua Ping was able to escape to Indonesia),” she said.

“Kapag mga ordinaryong Pilipino na lumalabas ng bansa, pahirapahan sa Immigration; pero kapag mga pugante, tila ang dali makalusot (But if it’s any ordinary Filipino that leaves the country, they find it difficult to get past Immigration; but if it’s a fugitive, it seems it so easy for them to slip unnoticed),” she lamented.

“POGO is officially banned in the country kaya dapat wala nang anumang impluwensya ang mga taga-POGO sa ating mga institusyon, lalo na sa ating Immigration (that’s why no POGO entity should have any influence to our institutions, especially with our Immigration),” she said.

Not an Alice Guo 2.0

While it may be premature to blame the BI at this point, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said it is still clear that the agency seems to be the “weakest link” in terms of allowing questionable personalities to leave the country.

Gatchalian said that even if no formal complaint has been against Roque, and therefore, no hold departure order stopping him from leaving the country, the lawyer is still in the lookout bulletin.

“That’s for sure because of the contempt order of the House of Representatives and also the arrest warrant of the House,” he said.

“A lookout bulletin activates all the ingress and egress, all of our border control. And yet, he was able to leave,” he pointed out.

“So talagang malaking pagkukulang ng immigration kung paano siya nakalabas (So the BI has to be accountable on how he was able to leave). I hope this is not an Alice Guo part 2 na allegedly nagbarko (who allegedly took a ship) and all that. But hindi ka pwede magbarko (But you can’t take a ship) all the way to the Middle East. It's impossible,” Gatchalian stressed.

“Malaki talaga ang pagkukulang ng Bureau of Immigration pagdating sa border control (The Bureau of Immigration is really lacking when it comes to border control),” he said.

Gatchalian said he is mulling an investigation into the matter so lawmakers can look at the incident seriously.

“Not because of Harry Roque alone, but nangyari na ito kay Alice Guo at siguro nangyayari ito regularly, hindi lang natin nalalaman. So dapat tignan talaga yung pagkukulang ng Bureau of Immigration (But this has happened to Alice Guo and maybe this is happening regularly and we are not just aware. So we need to look into the shortcomings of the BI),” he said, referring to the former Bamban, Tarlac mayor.

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