Ex-Palawan gov’s camp mulls graft complaint against Roque

A lawyer on Saturday said presidential spokesperson Harry Roque may be charged with graft for his remarks on the Court of Appeals' ruling ordering the release of former Palawan governor Joel Reyes, nearly seven years after he was tagged as the mastermind in the murder of broadcaster and environmentalist Gerry Ortega.

“We are studying it [graft complaint],” said Ferdinand Topacio, one of the lawyers of the former governor, at a news forum in Quezon City.

Reyes had asked the appellate court to cite Roque, who used to be a legal counsel of the Ortega family, in contempt for his statement that the CA ruling was a "travesty of justice."

Topacio said Roque could be held liable for graft for using “undue and improper pressure and influence on other public officials” citing the presidential spokesperson's statement that he will meet with Solicitor General Jose Calida to push for Malacañang’s bid to reverse the court ruling.

Roque had said that his remarks against the CA's ruling were approved by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Topacio, however, said that the presidential spokesman should choose between being the presidential spokesperson and being a private lawyer.

“I’m not asking that he resign unqualifiedly. What I’m saying is he should choose—does he want to be presidential spokesman or does he want to continue as a private lawyer trying the cases of his clients?” said Topacio.

He said Roque’s comments were “unethical” and that the former party-list congressman himself had exercised “mental dishonesty” for possibly misleading the public and Duterte on the Reyes case.

The lawyer said that it is “the prerogative of the Court of Appeals to overrule the finding of probable cause by the trial court.”

Reckoning that Roque’s “pride” may have been “pricked” by the prosecution’s defeat, Topacio accused Roque of covering up his “lack of lawyering skills”  by “using the bully pulpit of your Cabinet position to bully the Court of Appeals into seeing things your way.”

GMA News Online has sought Roque’s response but has yet to receive a reply. —ALG, GMA News