Laude lawyer asks SC to hold AFP chief in contempt

MANILA, Philippines — Lawyer Harry Roque, lead counsel in the murder case of Jeffrey "Jennifer" Laude, on Monday asked the Supreme Court to hold military leaders for indirect contempt of court.

In a 16-page petition, Roque argued that Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, Camp Aguinaldo commander Brig. Gen. Arthur Ang and public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc breached a confidentiality rule in filing a disbarment case against him last week.

Roque said that the military officials announced to the media about the disbarment case to be filed before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and made the details of the case public.

Citing the confidentiality clause under Section 18, Rule 139-b of the Rules of Court, Roque said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines distributed a press statement on the case to members of the Defense Press Corps.

He also argued that respondents are culpable of the alleged confidentiality breach, as the Armed Forces is a "hierarchical institution" operating through a "chain of command."

"Subordinates receive orders from superiors and are expected to execute them as ordered. At the top of the chain is the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in this case, Respondent Gen. Catapang," Roque said in the petition.

The disbarment case against Roque stemmed from his clients' intrusion when they scaled a perimeter fence in hopes of seeing American Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, the suspect in Laude's killing, detained at Camp Aguinaldo.

AFP officials accused Roque of violating professional ethics seen in his behavior in the military headquarters last month.