Lawyer Harry Roque on Thursday urged a senator to desist from using the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) controversy as a “convenient excuse to demonize the family members and close allies of former President Rodrigo Duterte.”

 “I urge Senator Risa Hontiveros to stop turning the ongoing government probe on illegal POGOs or Internet Gaming Licencees (IGL) into a political witch hunt of individuals, including myself, who are very close to the Duterte family,” Roque said.

”The lawmaker should also cease her malicious insinuations that I am involved in illegal POGOs. I would never counsel or abet the activities of personalities and online gaming firms that defy the law and undermine the legal profession.”

He added: "Essentially, she is barking up the wrong tree. The Dutertes and their associates are not behind the proliferation of illegal POGOs since 2022."

Roque, former presidential spokesperson, said the government has yet to fully ascertain Mr. Sun Liming's connection to illegal internet gaming operations in the Philippines.

Hontiveros accused the suspect of being an IT manager of Lucky South 99 Incorporated, which the PAOCTF  raided in June.

Leave probe to cops

“Senator Hontiveros should leave the police investigation matters to the police. For now, Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said they are still probing Mr. Sun Liming’s alleged links with illegal POGOs,” Roque said.

Roque earlier assured his willingness to cooperate with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), the Bureau of Immigration, and the Embassy of China to bring Chinese fugitive Sun Liming to justice.

PH2 Corporation is the registered owner of the raided property in Tuba, Benguet, where immigration officials arrested the suspect and Chinese lessee Wan Yuming.

Roque, who owns shares in PH2, said the corporation leased the house to Wan Yun on January 15, 2024. Both parties rescinded the lease contract in July.

“We were unaware that our lessee had allowed a wanted person in China to stay in our corporate property. Had we known this, we would have informed our law enforcers. In this regard, we sincerely apologize to the Chinese authorities,” he added.