Roque: House detention is ‘political harassment’

MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesman Harry Roque hit back at the House of Representatives yesterday for slapping him with a 24-hour detention, saying this is “simply an abuse of power.”

“It is clearly political harassment, political pressure,” he stressed after he was cited in contempt by the House’s quad committee and ordered detained at the chamber’s detention facility until 9 p.m. Friday.

The panel found him lying about the reason he did not appear at the committee’s hearing, as he insisted he was at the Manila Regional Trial Court on Aug. 16.

The RTC, through a certification dated Aug. 19, said Roque “did not appear on Aug. 16 before any of these branches as counsel, nor does he have any pending case(s) therein.”

The panel secured the certification from Jennifer dela Cruz-Buendia, clerk of court and ex-officio sheriff of the Manila RTC.

But Roque said there was “no actual lying” on his part.

“As I said, my non-appearance last Aug. 16 was an honest mistake… Neither was there disrespect. I have appeared in three out of four invitations,” he noted.

In a Zoom briefing, quad committee chairman Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers maintained the decision to cite Roque in contempt was “unanimous,” saying the committee saw “what he has done.”

He also issued a stern warning to Roque that the panel is ready to take stronger action if he commits another contemptible act.

The panel’s hearing was part of the quad committee’s investigation on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), which were totally banned last month by President Marcos.

Roque is facing probe over his supposed engagement as a lawyer for Lucky South Star 99 POGO firm, where the belongings of his former staff in Malacañang were seized during a raid by authorities in Porac, Pampanga.

Witnesses

The quad committee yesterday assured inmates Leopoldo Tan Jr. and Fernando Magdadaro of the panel’s approval for them to stand as witnesses to the involvement of former president Rodrigo Duterte in extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the country.

Barbers said the inmates were referred by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency through Undersecretary Moro Virgilio Lazo.

He added that the committee studied what the two individuals could contribute to their probe, although the PDEA had already weighed the information they had.

“We asked the help of the legal experts at the House to determine if their testimonies would be of value. And it seems that there are … So we gave them the chance to speak,” he said.

Former senator Panfilo Lacson cast his doubts on the inmates’ testimonies, saying that there should be strong evidence against Duterte.

“Why are they saying these things just now? Of course, there is that claim that they were afraid (back then),” said Lacson in Filipino over “Storycon” on One News.

“In any case, there is already jurisprudence stating that the original testimony is more credible,” he added.

The two inmates testified during a hearing of the panel on Tuesday and tagged Duterte as the mastermind who indirectly ordered them to eliminate three Chinese drug lords inside the Davao penal colony in August 2016.

Barbers and House committee on public order and safety chairman Rep. Dan Fernandez clarified that the probe on EJKs and illegal drugs is not a demolition job against Duterte.

“There are some persons that may be tagged in our investigation. If that’s the truth, that’s what we’ll reveal,” Barbers said in Filipino.

Fernandez said the quad committee probe on EJKs and illegal drugs did not just start recently as the separate committees comprising the panel have been investigating these issues since last year.

“If they are saying this is political harassment, that this is a demolition job, well, it is not our fault if the witnesses that we get have evidence that leads to them,” the lawmaker stressed. — Janvic Mateo