Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque appeared at the resumption of the Senate hearing on the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) on Monday after receiving an invitation from Sen. Risa Hontiveros to serve as one of the resource persons.
Hontiveros confirmed Roque’s attendance and counted on his recent media statement that he would unmask the so-called “King and Queen of POGOs,” referring to the alleged protectors of the crime-ridden industry.
Roque earlier begged off because he has a scheduled court hearing, but later on decided to catch up on the ongoing Senate proceedings after his engagement at the Manila regional trial court.
The former presidential spokesperson sat next to former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, who was linked to the raided POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac during the Senate hearing.
Previously, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairperson and CEO Alejandro Tengco told the Senate panel in July that it was Roque, who helped Katherine Cassandra Ong, a representative of Lucky South 99, secure permits for the embattled POGO site.
Roque and Ong personally talked to Tengco over payments of arrears, which the latter claimed was not turned over to PAGCOR by Cunana—their supposed representative. She also sought his help over her franchising papers under PAGCOR’s new policies.
The former presidential spokesperson, who served under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, strongly denied he was a lawyer of Lucky South 99 or was ever involved in any POGO operations.
Be the first to comment