Barbers to Roque: Man up, face Quadcom, submit docs

By Jose Cielito Reganit, Philippine News Agency

During the Aug. 22 Quadcom hearings, Roque promised to comply with the lawmakers’ request of producing the vital documents which would prove that he has no legal illegal activities or interests tied to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO). (File Photo: House of Representatives of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – The designated chairperson of the House of Representatives Quad Committee (Quadcom) on Friday assailed former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque for reneging on his promise to submit subpoenaed documents and taking to social media his response instead of attending the panel hearings.

In a statement, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the chairperson of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said Roque should be man enough to stand by his promise to comply and submit the documents requested of him by the panel, instead of criticizing and dishing out his frustrations against the panel via various social media platforms.

The documents include copies of Roque’s Statements of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs), documents related to his family firm Biancham, a subsidiary in Benguet called PH2, and a deed of sale of a 1.8-hectare Parañaque property.

During the Aug. 22 Quadcom hearings, Roque promised to comply with the lawmakers’ request of producing the vital documents which would prove that he has no legal illegal activities or interests tied to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

He was cited in contempt during the said hearing for lying about his absence from the Aug. 16 session in Porac, Pampanga.

“Na-contempt ng ikalawang beses si G. Harry Roque for non-compliance sa pangako nya na isa-submit ang mga nasabing dokumento. Pero umatras sya sa pangako niya, ito ang dahilan ng kanyang second contempt. Hindi dahil sa ayaw ng Quadcom ang sinasabi niya. Hindi nga sya uma-attend ng hearings e, paanong aayawan ng Quadcom ang sinasabi nya (Mr. Roque was cited in contempt for the second time for non-compliance of his promise to submit the said documents. He reneged on his promise, that’s the reason for the second contempt. Not because the Quadcom did not like his testimonies. He was not even attending the hearings, how could we dislike what he was saying),” Barbers said.

Barbers also dared Roque to show up at the Quadcom hearings and justify his refusal to submit the documents being asked by the panel.

Barbers noted that AR dela Serna, the self-confessed “all around alalay (aide)” of Roque, and accompanied the latter in several trips abroad, had been man enough to admit before the Quadcom panel that both of them has had a joint bank account in the amount of PHP3 million.

Roque was implicated in the POGO controversy for accompanying and helping Cassandra Li Ong, an official of Whirlwind and Lucky South 99 gaming firm, to pay off arrears totaling USD500,000.

He has admitted, on record, to being a lawyer for Whirlwind, the company that is leasing its Porac compound to Lucky South 99.

Roque, former spokesperson of then president Rodrigo Duterte, in a social media post, labeled the Quadcom as a kangaroo court, just wasting government money on hearings “that did not prove anything”.

Quadcom panel member Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro earlier said the panel found the sudden increase of Roque’s assets, from PHP125,000 before 2016 to PHP125 million in 2018.

“If he (Roque) will not be able to prove the legal and valid source of this sudden increase of assets of his family-owned Biancham, then there is reasonable ground to believe that indeed he is connected with POGO operations, and this money possibly came from POGO operations,” said Luistro.

The House leadership created the Quadcom – composed of the Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Human Rights, Public Order and Safety, and Public Accounts – as they are separately conducting investigations on POGOs, extra-judicial killings (EJKs) and illegal drugs with same resource persons and with similar or interrelated subjects.