MANILA, Philippines – The man caught in a house in Tuba, Benguet, on Saturday, July 27, was not Cambodian but a Chinese fugitive, according to Senator Risa Hontiveros.
“The Cambodian passport held by the man is fake. He’s really Chinese and as per our Chinese informant, he’s a red notice fugitive, very high-level, and he has already defrauded 100,000 people,” Hontiveros said on Monday, July 29, as the Senate continued its inquiry into illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
The Bureau of Immigration executed a mission order to raid a house in Barangay Poblacion in Tuba, Benguet, on Saturday. The BI said it was acting on information that one of the house occupants was a Chinese woman who is a person of interest in the Bamban, Tarlac POGO investigation. The BI found instead a supposed Cambodian, Khuon Moeurn, and a Chinese woman named Wang Keping, neither of whom was the target of the operation.
Harry Roque, who was spokesperson for former president Rodrigo Duterte, confirmed to the Senate that he “has interest” in the Tuba house. It is owned by a corporation called PH2, which is owned by Roque’s family corporation, Biancham Holdings and Trading. Roque said, however, that the house has been leased to a Chinese national named Wan Yun.
“Tinirahan ko po ‘yan nung ako po’y umalis ng gobyerno, and I do have an interest in the corporation that owns it. Pero wala po sa akin ang possession ng bahay na ‘yan,” said Roque.
(I once lived in that house when I left the government, and I do have an interest in the corporation that owns it. But I do not have possession of that house.)
When BI agents got there, they apprehended a man carrying a supposed Cambodian passport, who turned out to be Chinese. They also apprehended the female Chinese who was with him for allegedly harboring an illegal alien.
The BI confirmed to the Senate that their personnel neither had a search nor arrest warrant during the raid, which Roque continuously pointed out as a violation of constitutional rights.
This shows the quandary of law enforcement in cracking down on POGO suspects. If they apply for a warrant, they risk a leak or waiting too long that the suspects already flee. But if they conduct an operation without a warrant, they court legal trouble.
‘May naninira sa akin’
“Nang sinabi nila na sinalakay ang bahay ko at may mga wanted na mga POGO bosses doon, eh ako po’y talagang nag-conclude na meron talagang pilit na naninira sa akin (When they said my house was raided because there were wanted POGO bosses there, I concluded that there really was a demolition job against me),” Roque said during the Senate hearing, which got heated between him and Hontiveros.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian had to intervene and tell Roque that if he “disrespects” Hontiveros one more time, “I will cite you in contempt.”
Biancham was incorporated by Roque, his wife Mylah, his former law firm partner Joel Butuyan, and two others. Roque’s former assistant, Alberto Rodulfo “AR” dela Serna, was a qualifying stockholder. It means that these were stockholders with minimal shares, and tapped only to comply with the requirement that there should be five stockholders. Roque said that because a one-person corporation is now allowed, he is on his way to buying out everybody in Biancham.
Dela Serna is the aide whom Roque sponsored for a visa to Europe in 2023. Dela Serna was present in Monday’s hearing and he said his visa documents were found in the Lucky South 99 POGO in Porac, Pampanga, because he used to be a boarder there while attending a flying school in the province.
Dela Serna said he did not know that there was a POGO there, and that he lodged for free because he requested Katherine Cassandra Li Ong or Cassy Li Ong to be able to board rent-free. Prompted by Hontiveros’ interpellation, Dela Serna said he knew Ong through Roque.
Ong may be the next most hunted after Bamban Mayor Alice Guo. Ong, who is now in Singapore according to the BI, is an owner of a POGO called Xinsheng which preceded Lucky South. For Lucky South, Ong appears in some Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) documents as having transacted for them.
It was also Ong who got Roque as a lawyer for Whirlwind Corporation, the real estate firm that leased its Porac compound to Lucky South. Roque maintained he is a lawyer only for Whirlwind, and not for the Lucky South POGO even though an organizational chart names him as legal representative.
Cunanan appears
According to Pagcor chief Alejandro Tengco, Ong had said before that the fee meant to be remitted to Pagcor by Lucky South, totaling $900,000, had been pocketed by their consultant, Dennis Cunanan.
Cunanan is a former government official who had been convicted for his role in the pork barrel scam. He is the common link for the Porac and Bamban POGOs.
On Monday, Cunanan appeared in the Senate for the first time, where he confirmed that he consulted for the two POGOs, but denied that he pocketed the Pagcor fee.
“If that happened, there are only two things that can happen to me: either I am dead by now, or two, I may have a court case already happening,” said Cunanan. Senator Jinggoy Estrada paid much attention to Cunanan because the latter testified against him during the pork barrel scam trial.
Roque is still linked to the accusation against Cunanan. It was the former presidential spokesperson who had accompanied Ong to meet with Pagcor’s Tengco to complain that Cunanan had not been remitting Lucky South’s fees. Roque said this did not mean he lawyered for Lucky South because he just accompanied Ong to a meeting with Pagcor.
Hontiveros said, “Ayaw ‘nyo mang aminin na abogado kayo ng POGO, malinaw na abogado kayo ng taga-areglo ng POGO.” (While you may not want to admit that you’re a lawyer for a POGO, it is clear that you are a lawyer for a POGO fixer.)
Hontiveros pointed out that Lucky South was already raided as early as 2022. The senator asked Roque why he would want to be involved in a POGO that already has a shady record.
“Wala naman akong nalaman na na-raid sila noon dahil nakilala ko sila matapos ang eleksiyon noong 2022,” said Roque.
(I did not know they were raided because I met them after the elections in 2022.) – Rappler.com