Former Cabinet official Harry Roque has found a new alibi to dispute the outstanding arrest order by the House of Representatives against him — the threat of being kidnapped for ransom.
Roque, who has evaded a House arrest order since September, said lawmakers wanted documents related to his financial condition, a requirement he said he declined because he and his family may become a target of kidnap-for-ransom gangs.
“Ayaw ko lang ibigay ang mga dokumento na wala namang kinalaman sa imbestigasyon ng Kongreso na magsisilbi na mitsa sa buhay ko at ng aking pamilya dahil sa lantaran na naman ang kidnapping for ransom,” wrote Roque in a post in his Meta-verified Facebook account last March 21, referring to financial documents that Congress required him to turn over.
(I just don’t want to submit documents that have nothing to do with the investigation by Congress that might endanger my life and my family’s because of a surge in kidnap-for-ransom cases.)
Roque, a lawyer, said he recently handled at least two kidnap-for-ransom cases. He would not elaborate on these cases, however.
Based on official records, the House Quad Committee required Roque to turn over copies of his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) from 2016-2022, his and his wife Maila’s income tax returns from 2014-2022 and their respective medical certificates, the extra-judicial settlement of the estate including tax returns of his late aunt, and the deed of sale with tax returns and transfer of property of the 1.8-hectare property in Multinational Village, Paranaque that his family sold.
The House Quad Committee placed Roque under investigation for his alleged ties with illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) hubs.
Based on the Quad Committee’s order, the arrest order against Roque will be withdrawn once he submits the required documents.
But Roque has been questioning the authority of the powerful legislative body. “I no longer expect truth and fairness from a Kangaroo Court called QuadCom,” Roque has said.
“The House of Representatives Quad Committee’s current inquiry is a political inquisition against the Duterte family and me as their outspoken ally,” added Roque, who served as spokesperson during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s term.
Roque then went into hiding and the Senate is currently investigating how the former official managed to slip past the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
A Senate subcommittee hearing on justice and human rights last March 19 looked into the possibility that Roque may have used a route used by dismissed Bamban town mayor Alice Guo in her own escape. The lady ex-mayor is also in a legal bind because of her ties with POGO.
“Guo most likely left the country via a backdoor exit, potentially crossing from Tawi-Tawi into Sabah. The Philippines has a porous border, with a coastline stretching 36,000 kilometers, making it difficult to monitor,” explained BI Commissioner Joel Viado during the recent Senate hearing presided by Sen. Risa Hontiveros.
The BI chief said that Roque was seen in Tawi-Tawi early September, before eventually arriving in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Commissioner Viado also told the Senate that Roque attempted to fly to the United States from Japan but was denied boarding.
Roque suddenly surfaced in public last March 12 in The Hague, Netherlands when former president Duterte was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He announced he will serve as counsel for the former president in the ICC only to be dropped from the legal team by Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio, the ex-president’s daughter. The Vice-president said it will be better for Roque to focus on his asylum bid in Netherlands.
Roque’s last public appearance was on March 18 in The Hague although he made social media appearances later on to claim, among other things, that he did not submit documents to Congress due to fear of being kidnapped.
