Harry Roque disbarment sought by ex-Duterte Cabinet secretary

Lawyer Melvin Matibag, a former acting Cabinet secretary under the Duterte administration, on Tuesday filed a disbarment complaint with the Supreme Court against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

Matibag said he filed the complaint due to Roque’s posts on social media.

“We filed this disbarment case as an officer of the court. Alam ninyo kaming mga lawyers, we are given the privilege to practice the law pero (it has) corresponding responsibilities,” Matibag said in an ambush interview.

He said Roque posted a deep fake video of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. supposedly using drugs that went viral in July.

Authorities have said that the man in the viral video is not Marcos.

“It’s been established that that’s fake news, fake evidence so tignan natin (let's see) how the Supreme Court will appreciate it as a lawyer being the one who is posting it,” Matibag said.

He, however, said he could not discuss the complaint further due to the subjudice rule.

In a Facebook post, Roque dubbed the complaint as a “desperate act of attention.”

“We have to understand that the posting of the video in 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,” he said in a statement.

He said that the video was a matter of national security.

Roque also claimed that the House of Representatives Quad Committee targeted him due to the video.

The House cited Roque in contempt and ordered his arrest after he refused to submit documents that would supposedly justify his increased wealth.

Meanwhile, Roque also stressed that disbarment complaints should not be made public.

Matibag was the head of the National Transmission Corporation during the Duterte administration. He was appointed as acting Cabinet secretary in 2022. 

He is also a former secretary general of PDP-Laban, the political party chaired by former President Rodrigo Duterte. He resigned from his position in October 2023.—AOL, GMA Integrated News