Lawyer Harry Roque (left), PNP Chief General Rommel Marbil (Facebook)

Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Rommel Marbil gave a simple but stern message to lawyer Harry Roque, who is a fugitive as far as the House of Representatives in concerned. 

"It's up to him [whether he surrenders or not]. But alam niya naman po yung tama sa mali," Marbil said of the former presidential spokesperson in a chance interview on Tuesday, Sept. 17. 

(He knows what is wrong from what is right.) 

The country’s top cop added: "Dapat magpakita po siya dito sa House of Representatives." 

(He should show up here in the House of Representatives. ) 

Marbil was referring to the House quad-committee (quad-comm), which had issued an arrest order for Roque for failing to deliver promised documents. He has also no-showed the last two scheduled hearings of the quad-comm. 

The special four-way panel is investigating Roque’s alleged links to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), among other things. 

The arrest order from the House had been served at Roque's office in Makati City,  but he wasn't there. 

Marbil said the manhunt for the ex-president Rodrigo Duterte mouthpiece was ongoing. 

"We're helping ano--all agencies po not only the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and the BI (Bureau of Immigration) are helping po sa paghahanap po sa kanya (in searching for him)," he said. 

Asked by reporters if Roque was still in the country, Marbil replied: "Amin na lang po muna yun." 

(We'll keep that to ourselve for now.) 

Marbil was in the House of Representatives Tuesday to attend the plenary debate on the budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The DILG is the mother agency of the PNP.