A Caloocan City Regional Trial Court on Monday, Dec. 23, granted the motion to quash the warrant of arrest issued against Pandi Mayor Enrico Roque who was arrested for an alleged case of rape filed against him, a municipal councilor and employee.
"Wherefore, premises considered, finding the motion to be in order, the Motion to Quash Warrant of Arrest is hereby granted. With the quashal of the warrant, the accused-movants are hereby ordered released immediately unless they are being held for other lawful cause or causes," Caloocan City RTC Branch 121 Judge Ma. Rowena Violago Alejandria said in her order.
Violago also ordered the City Prosecutor of Caloocan to conduct a reinvestigation on the crime charged.
The trial on Roque's criminal cases was suspended for a non-extendible period of 30 days.
Aside from Roque, also charged were Councilor Jonjon Roxas, 48, and Roel Raymundo, 54, all of Pandi, Bulacan.
Roxas is currently confined at the Delos Santos Medical Center for pneumonia.
Roque had earlier expressed belief that the court will grant their motion and claimed that the case filed against them "is baseless and fabricated."
Roque said he doesn't have a house in Bagong Silang, Caloocan, and he has not set foot in the place for 15 years contrary to the complainant's narrative.
According to Attorney John Ree Doctor, Roque's lawyer, the case is still ongoing because the case will be returned to the prosecutor's office to go through the proper process and re-investigation to find out who is involved in the case, as well as its accuser and lawyer.
"The granting of the motion to quash is only for the warrant of arrest and the information in the court remains standing and the court has ordered a reinvestigation, so the case is not yet over and we will deal with it," said Doctor.
Roque expressed willingness to face the investigation to ferret out the truth and thanked the court for granting their appeal.