When fugitives slip through, ordinary Filipinos face the hassle
In a nation where the promise of equal justice is tested daily at its borders, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros has called for a full reckoning over how former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and his wife departed the Philippines undetected while facing human trafficking charges. The Bureau of Immigration found no official record of their exit, suggesting the couple slipped through a system that routinely burdens ordinary citizens while apparently yielding to the well-connected. The episode joins a growing pattern — including the earlier flight of suspected POGO facilitator Alice Guo — that raises a deeper question: whether Philippine institutions can police those closest to power, or whether accountability remains a privilege distributed unevenly.
- Harry Roque confirmed he flew to Abu Dhabi to notarize legal documents, yet the Bureau of Immigration found no official departure records from any major port — pointing to an illegal exit.
- Roque had been placed on an immigration lookout bulletin, making his undetected departure a direct failure of the very mechanism designed to prevent it.
- Hontiveros drew a sharp contrast: ordinary Filipinos endure immigration scrutiny at every turn, while suspects under investigation appear to vanish without consequence.
- Roque defended himself on social media, arguing no hold departure order existed and that his travel was entirely legal — framing the controversy as political theater rather than a flight from justice.
- The case lands against the backdrop of concluded POGO hearings and the earlier escape of Alice Guo, deepening suspicions that certain forces still hold sway over Philippine border enforcement.
- The central test now is whether the BI can identify who facilitated the Roques' departure and whether that person faces real consequences — or whether the investigation quietly dissolves.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros called for a full investigation on Wednesday into how former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and his wife Mylah left the Philippines undetected while facing human trafficking charges. Roque himself confirmed he had traveled to Abu Dhabi to have a counter-affidavit notarized, but the Bureau of Immigration found no official exit records from any major port — a finding that Commissioner Joel Viado said pointed to an illegal departure. Roque had been on an immigration lookout bulletin, making the breach all the more glaring. Viado noted that the manner of their flight could itself be read as evidence of guilt.
Hontiveros used the moment to name a troubling pattern. Ordinary Filipinos, she observed, face routine hassles at immigration, while suspects under investigation appear to slip through with ease. She demanded that the BI and other agencies quickly identify whoever helped facilitate the Roques' exit. Roque, for his part, pushed back on Facebook, arguing that no hold departure order had been issued against him and that he retained the legal right to travel. He dismissed the contempt case as politically motivated and rejected any suggestion that leaving amounted to an admission of guilt.
The incident arrived just as Hontiveros had wrapped up Senate hearings on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations, the illegal gambling enterprise already banned by President Marcos. The BI was still under scrutiny for the earlier escape of former Bambang, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, a suspected POGO facilitator who fled to Indonesia. Hontiveros stressed that POGO was supposed to have zero influence over government agencies — yet the recurring image of high-profile figures departing unimpeded suggested otherwise. Whether the bureau can now identify those responsible, and hold them accountable, will determine whether it functions as an independent institution or one still compromised from within.
On Wednesday, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros called for a full investigation into how former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and his wife Mylah managed to leave the Philippines without detection while facing human trafficking charges. The demand came after Roque himself confirmed on Tuesday that he had flown to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to have his counter-affidavit notarized in the case against him, though he insisted he was no longer in the country.
The circumstances of their departure raised immediate red flags within the Bureau of Immigration. Commissioner Joel Viado noted that the Roques appeared to have traveled out of the country illegally, as there were no official records of their exit from any major port. Roque had been placed on an immigration lookout bulletin, yet somehow managed to leave anyway. The ease with which they slipped out prompted Viado to observe that such flight itself could be read as evidence of guilt.
Hontiveros seized on the apparent breach in border security to highlight a troubling double standard. "When ordinary Filipinos leave the country, it's a hassle at the Immigration," she said in her statement. "But when it comes to fugitives, it appears so easy for them to slip through." She demanded that the Bureau of Immigration and other law enforcement agencies identify as soon as possible who had helped facilitate the Roques' departure.
Roque pushed back against the implications in a Facebook post, arguing that he had committed no crime by leaving. He pointed out that no hold departure order had been issued against him and that he retained the legal right to travel. He characterized the congressional contempt case as heavily politicized and rejected the notion that his departure could be construed as an admission of guilt. "I am not aware of any law that prohibits travel otherwise," he wrote.
The incident arrived at a moment when Hontiveros had just concluded Senate hearings on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations, or POGO, the illegal gambling enterprise that President Ferdinand Marcos had already banned from operating in the country. The BI still had much to answer for regarding an earlier escape: former Bambang, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, a suspected POGO facilitator, had managed to flee to Indonesia. Hontiveros emphasized that POGO was supposed to have zero influence over Philippine government agencies at this point, yet the pattern of high-profile figures slipping out of the country suggested otherwise.
The Roque case now sits at the intersection of two separate accountability crises: the trafficking allegations themselves, and the apparent failure of immigration enforcement to prevent the departure of someone under investigation. Whether the BI can identify who helped them leave, and whether that person or persons face consequences, will test whether the bureau can function independently or whether it remains compromised by the very forces it is supposed to police.
Notable Quotes
When ordinary Filipinos leave the country, it's a hassle at the Immigration. But when it comes to fugitives, it appears so easy for them to slip through.— Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros
I have no hold departure order and have the right to travel. I am not aware of any law that prohibits travel otherwise.— Harry Roque, via Facebook
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that Roque left the country if he says he had the legal right to do so?
Because he was under investigation for human trafficking and placed on a lookout bulletin. The question isn't whether he had a right to travel—it's how he traveled undetected when the system was supposed to flag him. That's a failure of the system itself.
But he says there was no hold departure order against him.
That's the problem. There should have been one, or at minimum, the lookout bulletin should have stopped him at the airport. Instead, he walked through with no official record of his departure. Someone either didn't do their job or was told not to.
Hontiveros mentions POGO. What does that have to do with Roque?
POGO is the larger corruption story—illegal gambling operations that infiltrated government. The fact that another suspected POGO figure, Alice Guo, also escaped to another country suggests a pattern. It raises the question of whether these escapes are coincidence or whether the same networks that protected POGO are still protecting people.
So Hontiveros thinks POGO influence is still active in the Bureau of Immigration?
She's not saying it directly, but she's pointing at it. She notes that POGO was banned by the President, yet somehow high-profile figures keep slipping out undetected. That's either incompetence or complicity, and either way, it needs investigation.
What happens next?
The BI has to identify who helped them leave. If they can't—or won't—that itself becomes the story. It tells you whether the bureau can actually function as an independent agency or whether it's still captured by the forces it's supposed to police.