PAGCOR chief says former presidential spokesman Harry Roque allegedly lobbied for illegal POGO

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) Chairman Alejandro Tengco accused former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque of being connected to a POGO operation that was raided by the government.

During a Senate inquiry about the offshore gaming industry in the Philippines, Tengco said Roque served as the legal counsel of the raided Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) Lucky South 99. Tengco has previously announced that he would give the identity of a former high-ranking government official who “tried to facilitate the grant of gaming licenses to some illegal Pogos.”

GMANetwork quoted Tengco as saying that Roque, along with Cassandra Lee Ong of Lucky South 99, set an appointment with him on July 26, 2023 to talk about the license and unpaid arrears of the POGO company. At that time, Roque was no longer a public official.

The PAGCOR chief recalled that Roque and Ong asked him to give Lucky South 99 a chance to pay their unpaid fees for six months amounting to US$500,000 (P29 million).

It was revealed that the POGO company gave its payment to Dennis Cunanan, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99. However, Cunanan allegedly did not remit this payment to PAGCOR.

During the July 26, 2023 meeting, PAGCOR Assistant Vice President for Offshore Gaming License Department Jessa Mariz Fernandez was with Tengco when he met with Roque and Ong.

In August 2023, PAGCOR released its new guidelines regarding licenses for offshore gaming licensees and service providers. In September, Lucky South 99 applied for a new license but it was rejected. Roque contacted Fernandez to follow up on the status application of Lucky South 99 several times, and to ask for the documents needed to be submitted in order to comply with the requirements.

Tengco confirmed that Roque was named as the head of Lucky South 99’s legal department on the POGO’s organizational chart that was submitted for their license reapplication.