
Photo by Senate of the Philippines
THE quad committee in the Lower House of Congress advised former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque that he may be feeling like an important political figure in the Philippines.
At the same time, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the head of the quadcomm, confirmed that many witnesses are willing to testify regarding the connection between Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO), illegal drugs, and Extra-judicial killings (EJK).
“My advice to him is that do not believe and disabuse yourself from believing that you are a very important political figure in the country,” Barbers advised. This comes after Roque was released after 24 days of detention for contempt and went to Edsa to confront Congress and the government.
The lawmaker denied that they are suppressing Roque, stating that for two years, Roque has been criticizing the government, but they are simply ignoring him because he is not considered an important political figure in the country.
Roque is one of those being investigated by the quadcomm as the alleged lawyer of Whirlwind Corporation, which leases Lucky South 99, where Cassandra Li Ong is also allegedly connected.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, the committee will continue the hearing on the mentioned issues, where Barbers mentioned that many have approached them to share their knowledge about POGO, illegal drugs, and EJK.
However, they allegedly screen those who want to help the committee before allowing them to testify to avoid the Congress being used for anyone’s personal interests. “Before we accept you, you must have an affidavit,” Barbers said, emphasizing that they take these discussions seriously.
The invitation to the committee remains open to former president Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, and Bong Go, whose names have been linked to the reward system in the war on drugs using POGO money.