Pandi mayor, 2 others ask Caloocan court to quash rape charges
PANDI, BULACAN — Mayor Enrico Roque, alongside Municipal Councilor Jonjon Roxas and driver Roel Raymundo, had filed a motion to quash the warrant of arrest and two counts of rape charges against them, citing alleged violations of constitutional rights, due process, and court procedural rules.
The five-page motion, submitted on Wednesday to Judge Rowena Alejanda of Regional Trial Court Branch 121 in Caloocan City, argued that the rape accusations were “fabricated and politically motivated.”
According to the accused, the case is a ploy to” harass” Roque, who is seeking reelection in the May 2025 elections.
The charges stemmed from an April 2019 complaint filed by a 17-year-old girl, who alleged she was gang-raped by the three men during a drinking spree at the mayor’s purported residence in Bagong Silang, Barangay 188, Caloocan City.
The prosecution upgraded the original complaint from a single count of rape to two counts, given the nature of the alleged crime.
But Roque and his co-accused asserted they were never residents of Caloocan City and had no house in the barangay mentioned in the complaint. The motion argued that the complainant’s use of a false address prevented the accused from receiving any notice or summons regarding the case, depriving them of the opportunity to participate in the required preliminary investigation.
Not notified
“The accused did not receive a copy of the complaint against them nor a pleading related to the instant case. Evidently, they could not have been notified of the complaint against them since the address indicated in the records of the city prosecutor is in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, and not their actual and true addresses in Pandi, Bulacan,” the motion stated.
The accused contended they were deprived of their constitutional right to due process, as they were not informed of the charges filed against them.
This, they argued, constituted “a clear violation of procedural rules.”
According to the motion, the city prosecutor based the case solely on the private complainant’s affidavit “without the benefit of a fair and thorough preliminary investigation.”
They said the court issued the questioned warrant of arrest without the accused being given an opportunity to respond.
The accused said the preliminary investigation is a “necessary step” before the filing of information for criminal offenses where the penalty prescribed by law is at least four years, two months, and one day, regardless of the fine.
They said the preliminary investigation would serve as an inquiry or proceeding to determine whether sufficient grounds exist to establish “a well-founded belief” that a crime has been committed and that the respondents are probably guilty and should stand trial.
Roque, Roxas and Raymundo were arrested last Tuesday at 1 p.m. inside the Amana Water Park Resort in Pandi, Bulacan, where they were attending a municipal Christmas party event for senior citizens.
The three remained detained at the Northern Police District Command in Caloocan City.
