MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) is being asked to stop the House of Representatives quad committee from enforcing the arrest order it issued against former presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr.
Roque’s daughter Bianca Hacintha has filed a petition for a writ of amparo, which asked the SC to issue a temporary protection order as it accused the House quad committee of using its legislative powers “in an abusive manner.”
A writ of amparo is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security has been violated or is threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee or of a private individual or entity.
“The actions of the respondents (the House quad comm) were committed with grave abuse of discretion in exercising their legislative powers in an abusive manner and in usurping the investigative powers reserved for the executive branch and the adjudicative powers reserved for the judicial branch of the government,” the petition read.
The quad comm has ordered the arrest and detention of Roque after it cited him in contempt for failing to submit subpoenaed documents to the panel’s inquiry, including his tax records and statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.
The House panel is investigating an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga, which was raided in June for illegal activities such as human trafficking, torture and scam farms.
Roque was dragged into the controversy after authorities and the quad comm found evidence that allegedly linked Roque to Lucky South 99.
Aside from stopping the House panel from enforcing its arrest order, the petition also asked the SC to stop the quad comm from compelling Roque to produce any additional document or attend future hearings.
It said Roque has already provided all information “relevant and pertinent to the subject of the congressional inquiry,” noting that the former presidential spokesman answered all questions of the committee “forthrightly, without invoking any excuse” and has “never evaded any question.”
“The quad comm has wielded its contempt power capriciously and whimsically, meting out punishment just because some of its members did not like the answer of the resource persons, or because the resource persons are invoking their constitutional rights,” the petition read.
It pointed out that a legislative inquiry must respect the individual rights of those invited to or affected by the hearings, adding that the “the power of legislative inquiry must be carefully balanced with the private rights of those affected.”
It urged the high tribunal “to draw the line where the power of Congress should end, and where the fundamental constitutional rights of every citizen should be given primacy.”
“A person’s right against self-incrimination and to due process cannot be swept aside in favor of the purported public need for legislative inquiry,” the petition read.
Wife may face arrest
In a related development, Roque’s wife faces possible arrest if she will not attend the next hearing of the House quad comm, which is investigating the couple’s links to POGOs.
The quad comm issued last week a show cause order to Mylah Roque, who flew to Singapore in the first week of September to seek medical treatment, to attend the panel’s next hearing, according to its vice chairman and Antipolo 2nd District Rep. Romeo Acop.
“It is better for her to attend the hearing and explain. She can do that, (tell us) ‘I refuse to answer.’ She can exercise her right against self-crimination. Just like what the other resource persons are doing,” Acop said in a radio interview.
He noted that if Roque would continue to snub the committee, “not respecting our invitation,” she could be cited for contempt, leading to her arrest.
Roque was absent during the past two hearings of the committee to which she was invited. She presented a medical certificate in her second absence, but this was not recognized by the panel.
Acop said the committee decided that Roque’s medical certificate was “not enough for her not to attend our hearing.”
The lawmaker added that the committee wants to be enlightened more about Roque’s health condition. As a policy, the committee shall issue a “subpoena” if an invited resource person is absent for the third time.
“If you don’t honor the subpoena, then the committee will move to cite you in contempt,” Acop maintained, after Roque lambasted committee overall chair and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers for imputing malice to her travel to Singapore, where she is supposedly seeking treatment.
“And I traveled because I have a right to travel as guaranteed by the Constitution,” Roque said.
The panel wants to question Roque as she allegedly signed the lease contract to a house in Tuba, Benguet, where Chinese and Cambodian nationals linked to POGO were arrested.
It also wants to investigate her possible ties to Lucky South 99, an illegal POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga.
Ex-PNP chief story just gossip, rumor
After causing a stir that angered the Philippine National Police and its former leaders, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) senior vice president Raul Villanueva admitted that his revelation that a former PNP chief may have helped dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo escape was purely a rumor and that he has no evidence to back up his claim.
Villanueva, a retired military general, made the admission to Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco during a conversation yesterday.
Francisco spoke with Villanueva over the phone to clarify his statement, which he made during a Senate hearing on the illegal POGOs.
“His explanation is that what he said was purely gossip and he had no basis of what he said,” Francisco told reporters in a phone interview.
The CIDG chief said Villanueva is willing to be interviewed by journalists to clarify the issue should the two of them meet at the Senate today.
The topic on whether the PAGCOR official will issue a public apology was not tackled during their conversation, according to Francisco, although he pointed out to the former commander of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines that his statement caused concern not only among former PNP chiefs, but also the entire police organization.
“All he was saying was that he did not specify anything and this is just a rumor among the intelligence community, but I told him that our ex-PNP chiefs were concerned and this has become a big concern and issue in the PNP,” Francisco said.
Asked if Villanueva explained why he made the statement knowing he has no evidence, Francisco replied: “Maybe, it’s better to ask him because I really told him over and over again that I need this information, but he said that it’s really ‘marites’ (colloquial term for gossip) and just rumors.” — Sheila Crisostomo, Emmanuel Tupas, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Rainier Allan Ronda