Netizens are raising questions over a document that showed former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque brought along a male pageant winner as a travel companion for his trip to Europe back in 2023.
The letter signed by Roque recently surfaced after it was recovered in a search at a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Porac, Pampanga.
The affidavit of support showed that Alberto De La Serna, Mr. Supranational Philippines 2016 winner who is also Roque’s then-executive assistant, will be accompanying Roque in his travel to Poland, Ukraine, and Italy from October 9 to 18, 2023 where he was invited to speak on an event about the Peace Process in Ukraine.
Roque said that he needed a travel companion as he was “diabetic, with coronary stent and suffering from acute spinal stenosis,” and would cover the expenses of De La Serna’s travel.
“I acknowledge my responsibility to ensure that De La Serna will not become a financial burden on any the resources or social services of any of the countries that we are visiting during our stay,” Roque said.
De La Serna was an executive assistant III with a salary grade 20 at the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson from January 4, 2021 to December 31, 2021, according to the appointment letter secured by the AKB Express News.
LOOK: Appointment paper for former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s executive assistant and affidavit of support signed by Roque recovered during the raid on the POGO hub at the Lucky South 99 compound in Porac, Pampanga.
📷 AKB Express News https://t.co/BI0Jz7eYx7 pic.twitter.com/hjfESRxCn0
— iMPACT Leadership (@iMPACTPH2019) June 16, 2024
But Filipino social media users on platform X (formerly Twitter) are questioning this decision saying that the travel companion should be a medical officer, instead o a pageant winner.
Since Harry Roque is diabetic, he needed a travel companion who is:
❌ Nurse
✅ Mister Supranational 2016 https://t.co/p0eCn3oV3U pic.twitter.com/RBsqX0DTKx— IG: robismore (@robismore) June 16, 2024
sakit sa bangs talaga itong si harry roque. sa halip na nars o caregiver ang kasama sa kanyang 3-country trip, lalaking nanalo sa isang men’s pageant ang isinama. talagang most corrupt ang duterte administration. lahat abusado sa pondo ng bansa. #mostcorrupt #mostevil pic.twitter.com/phAWSrHCHN
— PinoyAko (@pinoysiwowie) June 17, 2024
Harry Roque’s decision to bring Mr. Supranational 2016 with him in his travels for purported health assistance is questionable.
Is Mr Supranational 2016 trained in taking blood pressure, administering CPR, and measuring blood sugar levels?
Usually, people with chronic… pic.twitter.com/asCybROCoW
— Thea Tan (@theadtan) June 17, 2024
However, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said that there is nothing suspicious in the document.
“The document itself is innocent. The document is not of suspicious or criminal nature,” PAOCC spokesperson Winston John Casio said.
Meanwhile, Roque denied accusations linking himself to POGO operations.
“Matagal ko na nga pong empleyado ‘yan pero matagal na po siyang hindi nagtatrabaho sa akin,” Roque said in an interview with GMA News
“Ang tingin ko po, dahil matagal siyang nag-aaral sa, somewhere diyan sa Clark, baka nakitira siguro diyan,” he added.
Roque served as a lawyer for the Whirwind Corporation, the establishment that leased its property to POGO Lucky South 99.
