Metro Manila, Philippines – Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque may have fled the country on the same route as dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, the Bureau of Immigration told the Senate on Tuesday, March 18.
During a hearing of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said Roque was sighted in the southernmost Mindanao province around 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2024. Two days later, he arrived in the United Arab Emirates, he added.
“Since Mr. Roque has no recorded departure in the BI’s records, he likely took the same route as Alice Guo in leaving the country by using a backdoor exit in Tawi-Tawi,” Viado said.
In the same report, he said Guo “most likely” entered Sabah, Malaysia. Guo briefly fled the country in July 2024 amid an investigation into her alleged links to offshore gaming operations. Indonesian authorities arrested the former mayor and turned her over to the government. She is now detained at the Pasig City jail on various charges.
“In conclusion, any powerful individual backed by the POGOs (Philippine offshore gaming operators) or have access to funding and resources such as the POGOs can easily sneak out of our borders and enter other neighboring countries,” Viado said.
“The POGOs have numerous unofficial ports of exit to choose from in order to whisk away or hide their bosses or their criminal accomplices. This is why it has proven rather difficult for us to pinpoint the exact sea or airport that the POGOs used to allow Alice Guo or even Atty. Roque to escape from,” he added.
Both Guo and Roque have denied any links to POGOs. In September, the House of Representatives cited Roque in contempt and ordered his detention for refusing to submit documents over his supposed unexplained wealth. He recently announced that he is applying for asylum in the Netherlands, where he appeared last week as his former boss, former President Rodrigo Duterte, faced pre-trial for a crime against humanity charge over extrajudicial killings when he was mayor and president.
Roque’s case was raised as the Senate continued to investigate how Guo was able to leave the country last year.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission reported that Guo entered Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, in July, then proceeded to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but the exact exit point in the Philippines could not be determined.
The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency also mentioned that aside from Tawi-Tawi, Palawan could be another potential exit point for Guo.
Viado explained that the country has 14 international ports of entry and exit, and all terminal heads have certified under oath that Guo did not pass through their terminals. He also noted the challenges of securing these areas, citing that the bureau has only 16 personnel in its fugitive search unit.
