Former Roque co-worker asks SC to disbar him

Melvin Matibag (left) and Harry Roque

MANILA, Philippines — A lawyer who also served under the previous administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to disbar former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

Melvin Matibag, who former President Rodrigo Duterte named acting Cabinet secretary in March 2022, filed the administrative case against Roque. He also served as secretary general of the ruling PDP-Laban while it was chaired by the former chief executive.

READ: PNP tracing persons behind ‘deepfake’ video showing false clips of Marcos

Matibag declined to discuss the details of the case he filed against Roque, citing the sub judice rule, which restricts comments and disclosures related to pending judicial proceedings.

But he pointed to Roque’s social media posts on a viral “deepfake” video supposedly showing President Marcos snorting a white powdery substance as among his reasons for suing his former co-worker in government.

“He’s a lawyer, so whatever he presents, there will be people who will believe or listen. So our responsibility as officers of the court and lawyers is higher than that of ordinary people using Facebook and social media,” Matibag said.

He noted that the Supreme Court has introduced a new provision in the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability on responsible social media use by lawyers.

Section 38, in particular, states that “a lawyer shall not knowingly or maliciously post, share, upload or otherwise disseminate false or unverified statements, claims, or commit any other act of disinformation.”

No politicking

Matibag, however, said he was friends with Roque and his complaint had “nothing to do with politics or personal [reasons].” According to him, he merely wanted to “help” the judicial system come out with a jurisprudence to guide lawyers on how to behave online.

“I am into politics just like Atty. Harry Roque, but there is nothing political about this administrative complaint. There is no color to it. It’s just a presentation of facts and legal arguments,” he said.

In a statement, Roque dismissed the disbarment case against him as “a desperate act of attention” and said that “complaints of disbarment, first and foremost, should not be made in public.”

He argued that his posting of the video on social media was protected by free speech under the privileged doctrine.

Roque further claimed the video was a matter of “national security” and its authenticity and content supposedly deserved widespread discussion. The National Bureau of Investigation has already said the video was fake based on its forensic findings.

‘Polvoronic’ video

“In all of this, one thing is certain: the quad committee is pulverizing me because of the ‘polvoronic’ video. This is according to my former colleagues in the House of Representatives,” Roque said.

He was referring to the House joint panel conducting an investigation of illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), which earlier cited him in contempt and ordered his arrest for failing to submit subpoenaed documents crucial to the probe, including his tax records and statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth.

Lawmakers are investigating Roque’s alleged involvement in Pogos, particularly Lucky South 99, in Porac, Pampanga, which was raided on June 4 due to human trafficking issues.

On Monday, Roque, through his daughter, sought legal protection from the Supreme Court by filing a petition for a writ of amparo against the House quad committee.

In his 66-page petition, he alleged that its members committed grave abuse of discretion by exercising their legislative powers in an “abusive” manner, usurping the investigative powers reserved for the executive branch and the adjudicative powers reserved for the judiciary.

Roque also asked the high court to issue a temporary protection order and production order to stop lawmakers from enforcing the arrest warrant issued against him.