MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who has been accused of links to the operations of an offshore gaming hub in Porac, Pampanga that was raided earlier this year for illegal activities, is now a "fugitive" in the eyes of his former colleagues at the House of Representatives, a lawmaker said Monday.

Roque had previously been detained for failing to attend a hearing of the House Quad Committee of four panels looking into issues related to the Duterte administration due to a scheduling mix-up.

He has since styled himself as a "political detainee" and has accused the administration of targeting him for being a vocal supporter of the Dutertes, who were once part of the ruling coalition.

The House Sergeant-at-Arms, in coordination with the Philippine National Police, failed to locate Roque after searching for him for three days to serve the order of detention from the lower chamber, Surigao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Johnny Pimentel told ANC.

"Since Friday he's into hiding, we already consider him as a fugitive," Pimentel said, adding that if Roque does not appear  at their hearing on Thursday, members of the House Quad Committee might move to request a hold-departure order against him.

An HDO would bar Roque from leaving the country and can only be issued by a court. 

"This is just an inquiry. There are no cases filed yet. So if he has nothing to hide why doesn't he want to appear in our committee?" Pimentel also said.

READ: Harry Roque cited in contempt anew by House quad comm for failure to submit docs

Roque was cited for contempt again by the Quad Committee last week for failing to submit documents related to its inquiry into illegal POGOs, arguing that the documents requested by the joint panel were "not germane" — or relevant —  to its inquiry. 

However, the committee rejected his motion to quash a subpoena requiring him to submit various documents, including business records, tax returns, and Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

Roque, based on documents, appeared to be lawyering for Lucky South 99, which illegally operated a POGO facility in Pampanga and was raided in June 2024 after reports of illegal activities. He has denied this claim.

Pimentel also noted that Roque's wife, former Pag-IBIG Fund trustee Mylah Roque, has not appeared at the hearings despite being a subpoena for her to attend. 

"Highly likely during the next hearing we will already move for a show-cause order to Mrs. Myla Roque why she does not want to appear in our committee," the lawmaker said.

A show-cause order requires the respondent to explain why they should not be cited for contempt for, in this case, ignoring a summons from the House.

‘HINDI PO AKO PUGANTE’

In a Facebook video, Roque denied that he is a fugitive, reiterating that there are no cases filed against him.

“Unang una ah, hindi po ako pugante sa batas…Ang contempt of Congress ay ikaw ay pinarusahan, ipinakulong ng Kongreso. Pero wala po akong batas na nilabag. Nagsampa na po sila ng kaso laban kay Cassy (Ong) at doon po sa iba pang involved sa Lucky South 99. Hindi po ako kasama sa kahit anong kaso. Nagsampa na rin sila ng kaso kay Alice Guo, doon sa Bamban. Hindi rin po ako kasama doon. So wala po akong kasong hinaharap sa piskalya o hukuman. Ang kaso ko lang po ay dahil nga po ayaw kong ibigay ‘yung mga dokumento na wala namang kinalaman sa imbestigasyon ng POGO,” he explained.

“So ulitin ko po, hindi po ako pugante dahil lumabag ako sa batas. Pugante ako sa Kongreso lamang, wala po akong pakialam,” Roque added.

Roque also said what lawmakers are doing is not in aid of legislation, and they are merely power-tripping.

“Dahil ang tingin ko naman, kung ako po ay cited in contempt of Congress, ang Kongreso naman, cited in contempt of the people of the Philippines. Hindi po tama ‘yang ginagawa nila, pasigaw sigaw, kapag ayaw ng sagot, contempt kaagad,” he said.

“Nagpa-power tripping na po sila, maski wala silang batas na binubuo, tuloy tuloy ang paninira nila sa pamilya Duterte, doon sa extrajudicial killings, sa droga at doon sa POGO. Hindi po tama ‘yan,” Roque added.

According to Roque, he will wait for the decision of the Supreme Court before he submits the documents asked from him.

“Aantayin ko po ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema. Kapag sinabi ng Korte Suprema, ilabas ang dokumento, ilalabas ko po ‘yan. Pero sa ngayon po, hintayin muna natin ang desisyon ng hukuman,” he said.

House quad committee co-chair Rep. Dan Fernandez, while they respect Roque's decision not to submit to the authority of the House, he must face the consequences of his acts.

"We respect his decision not to submit to the authority of the quad committee's order of contempt, but must expect the repercussions of his acts.  The reason for him being cited in contempt was the non-compliance with the documents pertaining to his SALN, ITR and other documents, which he, himself, offered to submit to the quadcom," he said in a statement.

He also denied the quad committee is abusing its power.

"The abuse of power allegedly being employed by the quadcom is out of context. We are bounded by the rules of the House, which was approved by the 300+ members of the 19th Congress.  While we respect his decision to appeal… to the SC regarding the order that the quadcom issued, the contempt order of the comm stays. There's nothing to prevent the sergeant at arms to do its duty to implement the order of the quadcom," Fernandez added.