The court in Caloocan City has suspended for 30 days the trial of Pandi, Bulacan Mayor Enrico Roque, municipal councilor Jonjon Roxas, and driver Roel Raymundo, who are facing two counts of rape.
Judge Rowena Alejandra of Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Branch 121 issued the order, along with approving the motion to quash the arrest order against the accused, which led to their release.
At the same time, the court ordered the prosecutor’s office to submit their reinvestigation findings within 30 days.
In her order, Alejandra sided with the accused’s claim that their constitutional rights, including the right to due process, were violated.
According to them, they were not informed of the facts and circumstances of the cases against them, and they were allegedly not given notice of the proceedings.
They also denied being residents of Caloocan City, making the subpoena served to them allegedly invalid.
Mayor Roque insisted that he does not have a house in Caloocan and strongly denied the victim’s claims that he abused her in his alleged house on Langit Road, Bagong Silang in the said city.
It can be recalled that the prosecutors filed two counts of rape against the accused, which, according to the victim, she was allegedly raped on April 6, 2019, when she was only 17 years old.
Roque emphasized that the accusations against him are politically motivated and aimed at destroying his reputation because he will be running for a third term next year in the town of Pandi, Bulacan.