PANDI, Bulacan—Mayor Enrico “Rico” Roque of this town decried dirty politics and calls for fair campaign in the coming May elections as he expressed gratefulness in the dismissal of what he described as “politically motivated” two counts of rape cases filed against him last year before a Metro Manila court.
Roque, who is running for his last term in the May polls, welcomed the favourable decision of Judge Ma. Rowena Violago Alejandria of Branch 121 of the Regional Trial Court of Caloocan City as a vindication to a victim of fabricated charges due to political motives.
The mayor said that the people of Pandi whom he loves and serves very dearly do not deserve such kind of muddy politics and that he wished that such kind of politically motivated attacks and black propaganda would stop. He expressed concerns that if the powerful force behind such made-up rape charges were done against him, more so that the same be created against other candidates and even to an ordinary individual or resident of Pandi.
“I hope na tigilan na ang ganitong klaseng pulitika. Nobody among us Pandienos deserved ang ganitong gawa-gawang issue. Lumaban na lang ng patas ng hindi kailangang manira ng buhay ng ibang tao. Kung nagawa nila sa akin, hindi malayong kaya nila itong gawin sa ordinaryong mamayang Pandieno,” (I hope that they should stop this kind of politics. Nobody among us residents of Pandi deserved this kind of made-up issue. Just fairly fight and campaign without the need to destroy the life of other people. If they were able to do this to me, it is not far-fetched that they can also do it to an ordinary resident of Pandi), he told the NEWSCORE.
Alejandria dismissed on Feb. 25 the two counts of rape filed by one Mikaela Buico Mariano against Roque, Pandi Municipal Councilor Reynaldo “Jonjon” Roxas Jr., and Pandi municipal driver Rogelio Raymundo Jr, all residents of this town.
Alejandria ordered the dismissal against the three after Mariano failed to show up and attend two court hearings.
“When the case was called, there was still no appearance on the part of the private complainant Mikaela Mariano Y Buico despite the personal service of the subpoena sent upon her. The return of the subpoena sent to said private complainant shows “cannot be located”. The record further shows that this is the second time that the private complainant failed to appear despite notice. Wherefore, in view of the repeated failure of the private complainant to appear despite notice and on motion of the defense counsel, let this case be provisionally dismissed with the express conformity of the accused,” the judge said in the order.
Roque’s camp submitted a certification from the Philippine Statistics Office dated Jan. 13, that there was no Mikaela Buico Mariano with a live birth, marriage and death certificate that were on their database.
Since the arrest of the mayor and his two co-accused on Dec. 17, 2024, they already assailed and belied the said accusations and two counts of rape charges as fabricated and were only a part of a grand plan to destroy his name to discredit him in the upcoming May elections.
Roque told the media that the said case was among the many harassment cases fabricated against him since during the 2019 elections that had been revived last year to ruin his name in the May polls. However, he said, he and his two co-accused were unaware that the case was relived and that there were scheduled hearings because they did not receive any subpoenas.
John Ree E. Doctor, Roque’s lawyer said they did not receive any subpoena because it was sent to a fabricated address in Caloocan City while his client lives in Pandi town and was never, not a single moment in his life had lived or had owned a house in Caloocan City.
Based on the complaints of Mariano as reflected in the records of the Caloocan City Prosecutor’s Office, she claimed that she was a neighbour of Roque and she was invited by the mayor into his house in No. 170 Langit Road, Barangay 188, Bagong Silang, Caloocan City at about 10:45 p.m. on April 6, 2019 to join him, Roxas and Raymundo in a drinking spree. Mariano said she was a resident of No. 1097 Langit Road, Barangay 188, Bagong SIlang, Caloocan City. However, a barangay certification was issued to Roque’s camp that such address “was non-existent”.
Based on the records of Caloocan City Prosecutor’s Office, Mikaela “got drunk and both of them of Roque agreed to have sex and while they were having sexual intercourse, Jonjon and Roel suddenly appeared from the curtain already nude, and by force, they sexually assaulted Mikaela. Rico told Mikaela to do “four-some” with him, Jonjon and Roel, but MIkalea disagreed and tried to fight with them”.
Caloocan City police arrested Roque, Roxas and Raymundo on Dec. 17, 2024 while holding a municipal government Christmas Party at the mayor’s private resort in Pandi town based on a June 20, 24 warrant of arrest issued by Alejandria. On the same day, Doctor filed for a motion to quash the said warrant of arrest.
One week after, on Dec. 23, Alejandria granted the motion to quash the warrant of arrest and ordered the immediate release of the three accused from a police detention facility in caloocan City. This had created a high tension and emotional impact among the family, friends, supporters, followers of Roque and the two other accused and the majority of the residents of Pandi, particularly the timing of the arrest which was during the Christmas Season. The court also ordered the City Prosecutor of Caloocan City to conduct a reinvestigation of the case.
On Jan. 22, Darwin Canete, Investigating Prosecutor of the Office of the Prosecutor of Caloocan City dismissed and withdrew the Jan. 3 two counts of rape his office filed before the sala of Alejandria based on Mariano’s continuous non-appearance, the presence of documents putting into doubt the genuineness of the supporting evidence of the complainant and that the complainant is no longer or is in fact not residing in her stated address and that despite asking the local barangay authorities therein, she appears to be a stranger or a non-resident and the internal inconsistency within her own affidavit of complaint.
Doktor told NEWSCORE on Tuesday that the court’s dismissal of the case was only provisional wherein it can be reopened in two years. However, he expressed strong doubt the case will prosper because of the very basic ill nature of the case, that the complainant was fake and everything was fabricated.
