Disbarment complaint filed against Harry Roque

Former acting Cabinet secretary Melvin Matibag poses for a photo as he filed a disbarment complaint against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque before the Supreme Court in Manila on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. INQUIRER.net/Luisa Cabato

MANILA, Philippines — A disbarment complaint has been filed against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in connection with a defamatory Facebook post, where he linked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the viral “polvoron” video.

But Roque dismissed it as a mere “desperate act of attention” and something that should not be made public.

It was former acting Cabinet secretary Melvin Matibag who filed the disbarment complaint against Roque before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, September 24.

“We must understand that the posting of the video on social media is protected by free speech under the privileged doctrine. It involves a serious disease of a President that deserves an admission or denial.  PBBM has not done either,” Roque said in a statement.

“Also, the polvoronic video is a national security matter affecting the lives and future of millions of Filipinos. The authenticity and the content of the video deserve widespread discussion,” he added.

Roque continued to accuse the House of Representatives Quad Committee of “crushing” him because of the polvoron video.

“Sa lahat ng ito, isa lang ang sigurado: Pinupulbos ako ng Quad Committee dahil sa polvoronic video. Ayon na rin ito mismo sa mga dating kasamahan ko sa Kamara,” he said.

(In all of this, one thing is sure: I’m being crushed by the Quad Committee because of the polvoron video. This is according to my former colleagues in the House as well.)

In an interview with reporters, Matibag stressed that it had been established that the viral video was fake.

“Atty. Harry Roque and I are friends, and there’s nothing to do about politics or personal. As I said earlier, I want to help the judicial system come out with a jurisprudence for us lawyers to be guided on how to behave on social media,” he said.

He also believed that a “maximum penalty” should be given to Roque, thus the filing of a disbarment complaint, since the latter is an expert in the law.

“Mas mataas ang aming responsibility as an officer of the court, as a lawyer, kaysa ordinaryong gumagamit ng Facebook at social media,” Matibag said.

(Our responsibility as officers of the court, as lawyers, is higher than that of ordinary users of Facebook and social media.)

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