MANILA – A disbarment case was filed at the Supreme Court on Tuesday against former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque.

Lawyer Melvin Matibag, a former acting Cabinet Secretary under the Duterte administration, filed the complaint. Matibag claimed he took this action due to Roque’s social media posts and to provide the high court an opportunity to establish clear guidelines for attorneys’ use of social media.

“He is a friend. I cannot give you a copy of the complaint under the rules, but hopefully, this will provide an opportunity for the court to give guidelines on how officers of the court can use social media,” Matibag said in an ambush interview.

According to Matibag, Roque shared a deepfake video that went viral in July, purportedly showing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. using drugs. However, authorities confirmed that Marcos was not the individual in the widely circulated deepfake video.

“It’s been established that that’s fake news, fake evidence, so tignan natin (let’s see) how the Supreme Court will appreciate it as a lawyer being the one who posted it,” Matibag said.

During the Duterte administration, Matibag served as the head of the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) and was designated in 2022 as the acting secretary of the Cabinet.

Desperate Act of Attention – Roque

In a Facebook post, the former presidential spokesperson referred to the allegation as a “desperate act of attention.”

“The disbarment case filed against me for my social media post … is a desperate act of attention,” Roque said in a statement.

“We have to understand that the posting of the video on social media is protected by free speech under the privileged doctrine. It involves a serious disease of a President that deserves an admission or denial. PBBM has not done either,” Roque stressed.

He also claimed that the footage was a matter of national security.

Roque explained that disbarment complaints should not be made public.

Additionally, Roque stated that the video was the reason the House of Representatives’ Quad Committee singled him out.

The House found Roque in contempt and ordered his imprisonment after he refused to produce paperwork that allegedly justified his growing fortune.

Experts discovered manipulation in a film falsely claiming President Marcos was using illegal substances, which proved his innocence, according to Malacañang.

“Findings from experts on digital media and artificial intelligence (AI) have further debunked the authenticity of a video that circulated last July,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said.

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