Roque denies POGO rep role in human trafficking case

Former President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman in 2023, Herminio 'Harry' Roque, represented an offshore gaming operator linked to human trafficking during a meeting with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) officials last year.

Roque denied directly representing the POGO but admitted accompanying his client Whirlwind Corp., which provided services to Lucky South 99. Pagcor Chairman Alejandro Tengco revealed that Roque contacted Pagcor multiple times regarding documents needed for license renewal.

During a Senate hearing, Tengco showed an organizational chart listing Roque as part of 'legal' for Lucky South 99, prompting Senator Ana Theresia Hontiveros to invite Roque to testify at the next hearing. Roque threatened to sue several newspapers for cyberlibel over misreporting Pagcor's testimony.

Roque said his interaction with Pagcor was solely to schedule a payment and denied consenting to or being informed of his name's inclusion in any submission by Lucky South concerning license renewal.

Pagcor later denied Lucky South 99’s application for a gaming license, while the committee cited suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and her associates in contempt for failing to attend Senate hearings on illegal POGOs.