Harry Roque yet to file counter-affidavit on trafficking raps — prosecutor

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has yet to submit his counter-affidavit on the qualified trafficking complaint filed against him with the Department of Justice (DOJ), a prosecutor said Monday.

In an ambush interview after a preliminary investigation at the DOJ, prosecutor Eugene Yusi said Roque has already been notified of the probe and the complaint against him.

“Atty. Harry Roque has not yet submitted his counter affidavit. Presently, he has not yet participated or has been represented during the preliminary investigation,” Prosecutor Eugene Yusi told reporters.

“If he fails to appear or to participate in the preliminary investigation, the complaint will be resolved on the basis of the... evidence annexed to the complaint,” he later added.

However, when sought for comment, Roque said he has yet to receive a copy of the complaint.

“I haven’t been furnished with [the] complaint affidavit. Wala pa rin summons from DOJ (there were also no summons from the DOJ),” he told reporters.

Supplemental complaint

In October, authorities filed a supplemental complaint affidavit against Roque, adding him in the initial trafficking complaint against Lucky South 99 authorized representative Cassandra Li Ong and others.

Following this, Roque said he will answer the complaint, but maintained that there are numerous ways to do so besides a personal appearance to the Justice Department.

The former presidential spokesperson previously denied the accusations against him, saying that the evidence against him is not new.

Meanwhile, Ong’s camp said they will file their counter-affidavit next week.

Other respondents, for their part, were able to file their counter-affidavit during the preliminary probe, according to Yusi.

“Today some of the respondents filed their counter-affidavits and as well as some of them were furnished with copies of the CIDG supplemental complaint,” Yusi said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News