MANILA — Criminal Investigation and Detection Group tracker teams will work to find 50 individuals covered by an arrest warrant issued by a court in Angeles City, Pampanga in a human trafficking case related to a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in the province, an official said Friday.

Angeles City Regional Trial Court Branch 118 Judge Rene Reyes on May 8 ordered the arrest of former Duterte spokesperson Harry Roque and Cassandra Ong — the alleged representative of the POGO hub Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga — and others for non-bailable violations under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003. 

Court orders Harry Roque’s arrest 

Roque has denied the allegations, saying he is being subjected to political persecution by the Marcos Jr. administration, whiche he helped campaign for in 2022.

“Nag-create na po ng tracker teams para sa buong Pilipinas, para arestuhin ang mga accused po na 50 katao po,” Police Col. Randulf Tuaño, Philippine National Police Public Information Office chief, told reporters in a media briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

(Tracker teams have already been created across the Philippines to arrest the 50 accused individuals.)

Cassandra Li Ong, representative of Lucky South 99 POGO, confers with her lawyer during the House of Representatives quad committee hearing on alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration, the crimes linked to illegal drugs, as well as in POGOs on August 28, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file

Tuaño said CIDG will work with the Bureau of Immigration to find Ong, who was released from the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City after the House of Representatives concluded its probe into illegal POGOs in December last year.

 She is believed to have left the country.

The CIDG is also considering coordinating with Interpol to find Roque, who has sought asylum in the Netherlands. 

Hontiveros welcomes arrest orders vs Roque, Ong over POGO mess

Roque, who served two stints as former president Rodrigo Duterte's Palace spokesman, left the Philippines in September after being cited for contempt for refusing to attend House hearings into offshore gambling sites allegedly used as fronts for criminal activities.

Immigration said there was no record of Roque leaving the country, which suggests he slipped out through a backdoor.

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