Quadcomm eyes inquiry into status of Roque arrest order —House SecGen

The House Quad Committee is eyeing to immediately conduct an inquiry into the status of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s arrest order and the cases that have been filed against him, according to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco on Tuesday.

“I understand the House QuadComm is planning to have a hearing immediately just to know what’s the status of the arrest order and what the Department of Justice is doing about these pending cases,” Velasco said in a chance interview in the Senate. 

The House official was asked about the possible actions of the House of Representatives amid Roque’s appearance in public in The Hague, Netherlands, where former President Rodrigo Duterte is detained after his arrest last week on a warrant from the International Criminal Court. 

“Under the jurisdiction kasi siya ng Quadcomm. It was the Quadcomm which issued the arrest order and of course I co-signed the arrest order, but the House doesn’t have jurisdiction over consular matters it’s really the DFA. But according to the DFA, it has to have a court order before they can cancel the passport of Mr. Harry Roque,” Velasco said. 

Asked if they will request the cancellation of Roque’s passport, Velasco replied, “I think cases have been filed with the DOJ, pending pa yun eh kasama siya sa charges that were filed against former Mayor [Alice] Guo and that corporation. But I don’t think na-file na 'yan sa court. It’s still with the DOJ.

“Once it’s filed in the court. That’s the time that the court can issued an order concerning the passport or the immigration status of Harry Roque. Right now we’re waiting for that,” he added. 

Before he resurfaced in the Hague, Roque had been missing and was reported to have flown out of the Philippines after Congressional hearings that touched upon his alleged involvement in Lucky South 99, the raided POGO firm in Porac, Pampanga.

Roque was cited in contempt and ordered detained by the QuadComm on Sept. 13 after he refused to submit documents that would supposedly explain his increased wealth. — BM, GMA Integrated News