The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has deployed tracker teams nationwide to locate and arrest former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, Cassandra Ong, and dozens of others wanted in connection with alleged human trafficking linked to an illegal POGO hub.
In a statement, the CIDG said its teams began pursuing the 51 individuals named in arrest warrants issued Thursday by the Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 118. The charges involve qualified trafficking in persons tied to operations at the Lucky South 99 POGO hub in Pampanga.
Roque, however, denied any involvement in the alleged activities. He clarified that he had never served as legal counsel for Lucky South 99 or any illegal POGO operator. He said he merely accompanied Ong to a meeting, believing she had been defrauded.
Currently in the Netherlands, Roque is seeking asylum. In a statement late Thursday, he said the arrest warrant was part of what he described as “unjust prosecution” by the Marcos administration due to his political ties with the Dutertes.
“I reiterate: this is not flight as evidence of guilt but the exercise of a human right to asylum,” Roque said.
CIDG director Police Brigadier General Nicolas Torre III stressed that the group remains committed to hunting down fugitives. “The CIDG is dauntless, the CIDG means business,” he said, vowing to implement all arrest orders without exception.
