THE military is considering the possibility of seeking the disbarment of lawyer Harry Roque for his alleged “misbehavior” in Camp Aguinaldo last week.
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, Armed Forces Public Information Office chief, said Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff, is eyeing the filing of a disbarment complaint against Roque, counsel of the family of Jeffrey Laude, who was allegedly killed by a US Marine.
“The CSAFP [chief of staff, AFP] is strongly considering the filing of a formal complaint against him [Roque] before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines [IBP], if warranted,” Cabunoc said.
“The bases for this complaint are his [Roque’s] inappropriate actions inside camp premises during the intrusion incident on October 22,” he added.
On October 22 Roque, along with Laude’s mother Julita, sister Marilou Laude and his fiancé German Marc Sueselbeck, went to Camp Aguinaldo immediately after suspect Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton was transferred there.
Marilou and Sueselbeck scaled the perimeter fence of the Mutual Defense Board-Security and Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) compound, where Pemberton was detained, in their attempt to see the suspect.
Cabunoc had earlier accused Roque of deception and lying to gain entry into Camp Aguinaldo, the Armed Forces General Headquarters.
Cabunoc said the military leadership hopes that the IBP would act on the Armed Forces’ complaint. “He is a brilliant lawyer who should be an epitome of discipline and respect for law and order. We expect the IBP to take appropriate sanctions like disbarment,” Cabunoc said.
We don’t want him to misbehave inside military camps and subject our soldiers to his tirades again,” he added.
Earlier, the Armed Forces sent a letter to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to ask that Sueselbeck be declared an undesirable alien and bar him from returning to the country.