The Supreme Court denied former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s writ of amparo request since the protection order would not prohibit the House panel from arresting him.
SC issued the decision on Tuesday, October 1, after Roque’s daughter, Bianca Hacintha, filed a petition before the high court on September 23.
In her plea, Bianca contended that legislative inquiries should honor the individual rights of individuals invited to or impacted by the hearings, emphasizing that “the authority of legislative inquiry must be delicately weighed against the private rights of those involved.”
She further called the Supreme Court to clarify the limits of Congress’s powers, asserting that “the fundamental constitutional rights of every citizen should take precedence.”
However, the SC highlighted that the petition asserted that the House quad committee’s orders threatened Roque’s rights to life, liberty, and security.
As a result, Roque’s team requested that the Supreme Court prevent the House panel from arresting him and compel him to attend future hearings and submit documents.
“The scope of amparo is limited to extra-judicial killings and threats thereof, which is not present in this case,” SC Spokesperson Camille Ting explained.
A writ of Amparo is a legal remedy that can be sought by anyone whose rights to life, liberty, and security have been violated or are at risk of being violated due to an unlawful action or failure to act by a public official, employee, or private individual.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has asked the Quad Committee to respond to the plea “within 10 days of receipt of the Court’s Resolution.”
Roque has been in a legal dispute with the House quad committee because they say he is connected to POGOs, which are Chinese-run scams in the Philippines.
The panel has been trying to force Roque to show up to hearings and turn in papers. At the moment, it is looking into POGOs and how they might be connected to illegal drugs and crime, as well as to Roque’s time as an official in the government of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Roque has not been seen since mid-September, when lawmakers detained him once for contempt of court.
The plea for prohibition, which the Supreme Court is now looking for comments on, asks the court to stop the House committee from making Roque show up. (TCSP)
