Then Senate candidate Harry Roque at the UniTeam miting de avance on Aseana Avenue in Parañaque, May 8, 2022. Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News/File 

MANILA — Former Palace spokesperson Harry Roque may have left the Philippines through the same backdoor exit in Tawi-Tawi used by former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, the Bureau of Immigration said Tuesday.

Roque was sighted in Tawi-Tawi in the morning of September 2, 2024, two days before he arrived in the United Arab Emirates, BI commissioner Joel Viado told a Senate hearing.

The official said that since the BI had no record of Roque’s departure, he likely took the same route as Guo in leaving the country by using a backdoor exit in Tawi-Tawi.

Roque faces an arrest order for skipping a House inquiry into Philippine offshore gaming operators.

He said Monday he would apply for asylum in the Netherlands, where he has joined the legal team defending former President Rodrigo Duterte from crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court. 

The immigration bureau’s manpower is limited to only 16 fugitive search unit personnel and that they do not have presence and access in all ports, Viado said. 

He added that all BI terminal heads certified under oath that Guo did not pass through their terminals.

NO BID TO CANCEL ROQUE PASSPORT

Meanwhile, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said there was no active request from the chamber to cancel Roque's passport. The lower chamber has "no jurisdiction" over consular matters, he said. 

"It was the Quad Comm which issued the arrest order and of course I co-signed the arrest order. But the House doesn’t have jurisdiction over consular matters. It’s really the DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs]," Velasco said.

"According to the DFA, it has to have a court order before they can cancel the passport of Mr. Harry Roque... [As of now] wala pa. Because it will have to go through the process. I think cases have been filed sa DOJ pero pending pa yun eh," he added.

"Once it’s filed in the court, that’s the time the court can issue an order concerning the passport or the immigration status of Mr. Harry Roque. So right now we’re waiting for that," the official added.

The House official said the quad committee was planning to hold a hearing to know the status of the contempt and detention order against Roque and what the justice doing about the pending cases. 

House Quad Comm co-chairperson Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano on Monday said he would move to invite the Department of Foreign Affairs and Bureau of Immigration in the mega panel's next hearing tentatively set for Friday. 

Paduano said he believed Roque cannot be arrested in the Netherlands on the basis of the mega panel's contempt and detention order.

Quad Comm seeks explanation on Roque’s PH exit after ICC sighting

Roque previously denied links to Lucky South 99, a POGO raided in Porac, Pampanga due to alleged illegal activities.

— With a report from Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News