Roque camp asks for extension, commits to file counter-affidavit — DOJ

The camp of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) for an extension in filing his counter-affidavit on the qualified trafficking complaint lodged against him, the agency said Friday.

Authorities earlier included Roque in the trafficking complaint lodged against Lucky South 99 authorized representative Cassandra Li Ong and others.

"'Yung karagdagang mga respondents po sa ating kaso gaya po ni Harry Roque ay hindi po nag-file. They are asking for some time baka sa December 3 po sila magfa-file ng counter-affidavit," Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said in an ambush interview.

(The other respondents in our case like Harry Roque did not file. They are asking for some time, maybe on December 3 they will file their counter-affidavit.)

Roque did not personally attend the hearing but was represented by a lawyer.

The panel of prosecutors said Roque's legal counsel made a commitment to the DOJ during the preliminary probe that Roque's camp would lodge his counter-affidavit by then.

"Interesting po 'yan dahil titignan po natin… kung saan siya nag-subscribe, no? Dahil kung nag-subscribe siya dito sa Pilipinas, then malaman natin na nandito pa siya sa PIlipinas," Clavano said.

(That's interesting because we will look at where he subscribed. If he subscribed here in the country, then we will know that he is still here in the Philippines.)

"Kung wala po siyang ifa-file, then it gives more reason for us to believe that na wala na po siya dito sa Pilipinas," he added.

(If he doesn’t file, then it gives more reason for us to believe that he is no longer here.)

Roque is facing an arrest order issued by the House of Representatives after he refused to submit documents that would supposedly justify his increased wealth.

Asked if the panel of prosecutors would accept a counter-affidavit that was subscribed somewhere else, Roque said this depends on the panel of prosecutors.

Clavano said prosecutors would sometimes allow respondents to submit a counter-affidavit that is notarized somewhere else if the ground is justified.

Ong filed her counter-affidavit during the preliminary investigation, where she asked the DOJ to dismiss the complaint against her.

Alice Guo's submission

Meanwhile, the Justice Department's spokesperson also said the experience of dismissed Bamban Mayor Alice Guo's situation should be enough of a deterrent for other respondents to file spurious counter-affidavits.

"Siguro enough warning na po 'yung nangyari po kay Alice Guo na nag-subscribe po siya sa kanyang counter-affidavit kahit wala po siya dito sa Pilipinas. Naging malaking issue po 'yun so, I think, 'yun ho in itself ay isang warning na rin po sa ating mga respondents sa kaso na ito," Clavano said.

Guo's counter-affidavit for her qualified trafficking complaint was filed at the DOJ days after the complaint against her was submitted for resolution on August 6.

It was notarized on August 14 in San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan when Guo was already out of the country. Guo previously testified that she signed her counter-affidavit before she left the country in the first week of July.

The former mayor is facing a perjury and falsification complaint against the DOJ.

Guo is also facing a qualified human trafficking case before a Pasig court as well as a graft case before a Valenzuela court.

A quo warranto petition was also filed against Guo with a Manila court as well as a petition to cancel her birth certificate before a Tarlac court. — VDV, GMA Integrated News