Roque to challenge House quad-committee鈥檚 contempt order in court
MANILA, Philippines — Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque will file a remedy before the Supreme Court regarding the House of Representatives’ quad-committee’s newest contempt order against him.
In an online interview on Thursday with reporters covering the House, Roque said he will file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in case he is arrested by the legislative authorities and a petition for certiorari as he claims the quad-committee abused its discretion in requesting private documents.
Roque was cited for contempt again by the quad-committee after he failed to attend the hearing and submit the documents required by the panel, such as tax returns and his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
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“I will file the corresponding remedy before the Supreme Court, and ‘yan ay malapit na […] Well, habeas corpus, at saka certiorari, grave abuse of discretion, kasi nga ang ginagawa nila ‘yong pangangalap ng mga dokumento na wala namang kinalaman sa imbestigasyon, grave abuse of discretion,” he said.
Article continues after this advertisement(I will file the corresponding remedy before the Supreme Court, and that is near. […] Well, habeas corpus and certiorari, grave abuse of discretion. What they are doing — collecting documents unrelated to the investigation — is a clear case of grave abuse of discretion.)
Article continues after this advertisementWhen asked if he will no longer attend the hearings, Roque said he will leave it to the judiciary to decide if that contempt order is legal.
“Eh pina-aresto na po nila ako, ipapa-ubaya ko na ang aking kalayaan sa ating hudikatura, hayaan kong magdesisyon ang hudikatura sa kung tama ba ‘yang order na ‘yan or hindi,” he added.
(They want me arrested, so I will leave my freedom in the hands of the judiciary. I will let the judiciary decide whether that order is correct or not.)
During the hearing, Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores moved to cite Roque for contempt due to his continued noncompliance with the lower chamber’s subpoena.
“I move that we hold Harry Roque in contempt for refusing to submit the documents subject of this subpoena, of which he has manifested that he was going to submit to this committee,” Flores said.
The House has been asking Roque to submit key documents that would prove that he did not benefit from Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hubs. Roque filed a motion to quash the subpoena, but it was denied after Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro noted that public welfare takes primacy over personal privacy.
READ: Quad-committee junks Roque’s motion to quash subpoena on docs
Roque has been linked to Lucky South 99, the raided Pogo hub in Porac, Pampanga, after documents with his signature were found in the hub by operatives.
Eventually, it was revealed that he once accompanied Katherine Cassandra Li Ong, a stakeholder of Whirlwind Corporation, to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) for the settlement of unpaid dues for a Pogo license.
The former presidential spokesperson has repeatedly denied having any links with the Pogo hub, saying that he only assisted Ong and that he neither works Lucky South 99 nor Whirlwind, which leased land to Lucky South.
Ong has a 58 percent stake at Whirlwind, but lawmakers have uncovered that she worked for both companies.
