Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (left), lawyer Harry Roque (Facebook)

House quad-committee (quad-comm) lead chairman, Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers has insisted the body's fairness in its handling of the contempt citation and subsequent detention of lawyer Harry Roque. 

This, as Roque--known to be hyper-active on social media--assailed the quad-comm's actions as being part of a "demolition job" and "political harassment".

"He can say whatever he wants to say...I will not dignify that," Barbers told House reporters in an online press conference on Friday, Aug. 23. 

"Personally, I will not dignify kung ano yung rason niya, o ano yung sinasabi niya. Kami ay malinaw na kami ay fair," said the Nacionalista Party (NP) stalwart and veteran congressman. 

(Personally, I will not dignify whatever his reason is, or whatever he's saying, it's clear that we are fair.) 

"Bakit? Ikaw ay nag-violate, gaya ng ibang nag-violate sa rules ng House, eh dinetain namin at kinontempt namin. Yun lang)," Barbers explained. 

(Why do I say that? You violated the rules, like the others who have violated the rules of the House who we detained and cited in contempt. That's it.) 


Roque---a close ally of the Duterte family--was cited for contempt during Thursday's quad-comm hearing and slapped with a one-day detention at the House of Representatives in Quezon City. He is set to be released at 9 p.m. Friday. 

He formerly served as ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's official spokesperson. He is also a former Kabayan Party-list congressman.

BUT FIRST, READ THIS: 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/8/22/house-cites-harry-roque-for-contempt-slapped-with-24-hour-detention

Roque had informed Barbers in a letter that he could not attend the Aug. 16 hearing of the quad-comm due to a scheduled appearance at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC). 

However, a certification from the RTC’s Clerk of Court--presented on Thursday by Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo--confirmed that Roque had no scheduled hearings on that date. The certification indicated that Roque’s court appearance was actually held on Aug. 15, contradicting his excuse. 

Roque claimed that the lapse resulted from a mix-up of the dates and that it was an "honest mistake". But the quad-comm--by virtue of the unanimous decision to cite him for contempt--did not believe him. 

"My 24-hour detention is unwarranted. Simply, it is an abuse of power. It is political harassment," Roque would later write on Facebook.

Harsher penalty next time 

Barbers say that the next quad-comm hearing is set on Aug. 28. Roque is once again expected to attend the proceedings. 

Asked if the lawyer would get a harsher penalty the next time that he commits a "contemptible act" before the special four-way panel, the Mindanao lawmaker answered I the affirmative. 

“Yes, ‘yan ang patutunguhan kapag may bagong contemptible act si Harry Roque (that will happen if Harry Roque commits a new contemptible act), and we will have to ask members of the quad-comm, including the co-chairs, kung ano ang desisyon diyan (on what the decision will be). We will decide when that happens,” Barbers said. 

Another chairman of the quad-comm, Santa Rosa City lone district Rep. Dan Fernandez, said that Roque’s contempt citation should serve as a "warning to all resource persons we invite". 

"Don’t make false excuses because we mean business, because national security is at stake. We hope that everybody we will invite as resource persons will be cooperating,” Fernandez said. 

Roque is a central figure in the controversy involving Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which is under investigation by the quad-comm. The joint panel is composed of the Committees on Dangerous Drugs, Public Order and Safety, Human Rights, and Public Accounts. 

It is probing the connections between illegal POGOs, the proliferation of the illegal drug trade, illegal land acquisitions by Chinese nationals, and the extrajudicial killings associated with former president Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.