Roque urged: Address 'polvoron video' claims at hearing

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who is accused of orchestrating the spread of a deepfake video implicating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in drug use, must address the allegations against him in the House of Representatives Tri Committee, an administration lawmaker said Thursday.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong underscored the need for Roque to answer the gravity of accusations leveled against him in a proper forum, pointing out that as a lawyer, he is obliged “to inform the public based on facts and truth.”

“Well, I think so. I think we need to provide them the due process to explain himself,” Adiong told reporters when asked about the possibility that the congressional panel summon the former Malacañang mouthpiece.

At the panel’s fourth hearing into the alarming proliferation of false information and online content earlier this week, blogger Vicente “Pebbles” Cunanan pointed to Roque as the “source” behind the release of the manipulated video depicting Marcos using cocaine.

The clip, widely referred to as the “polvoron video,” went viral in July last year, just weeks before Marcos delivered his third State of the Nation Address.

In an affidavit, Cunanan told lawmakers that Roque spearheaded talks on how to leak the video during a private dinner in early July in Hong Kong with pro-Duterte bloggers. She also recounted that Roque uttered words that he was “good at bringing down the government.”

Roque dismissed Cunanan’s affidavit, which he claimed was fraught with “falsehoods and hearsays.”

He alleged that Cunanan’s testimony might have been part of the “script” of the Tri Comm, pointing to a well-prepared presentation, including PowerPoint, featuring the photo of the said dinner, along with video, and screenshots.

Citing the weight of the accusations, Adiong maintained the position that Roque owes the public an explanation.

“The allegation according to Ms. Pebbles Cunanan, if proven true, creating and spreading these deepfake videos, manufactured videos, distorted videos, to not only cause and stir public outrage but to demean a sitting official and expecting that there will be a call for any possible legal means to discredit the office that he represents is to me, borders the issue of national security,” he stated.

"He is a lawyer, he is an officer of the court. And they [must] not become fake news peddlers to a point where they are not only assailing the integrity of a certain individual, a sitting president at that, but they are also assailing the integrity of the institution that the person is representing which happens to be in this case, the Office of the President," he concluded.

Earlier, Roque insinuated that Cunanan, who was once a critic of Marcos, might have been paid to make such an affidavit.

“Why? How much was it? What’s the reason? Tell us, why? […] We are not mad at you, but if ever, we pity you because we understand that we are not like you who rely only on online selling for a living, we have some savings because we happened to get by with our work,” Roque averred.

In her defense, Cunanan asserted that she would rather be an online seller than an “illegal POGO owner.”

Roque has been highly implicated in illegal POGOs and is facing qualified human trafficking charges for his alleged involvement in Lucky South 99, a POGO firm in Porac, Pampanga, raided last year over allegations of unlawful activities, though he has repeatedly denied the allegations.

He also has a standing contempt order from the House quad committee for repeatedly snubbing its inquiry into POGOs.