Caloocan court junks rape case vs Bulacan mayor

MANILA, Philippines — A Caloocan court has dismissed the rape case filed against Mayor Enrico Roque of Pandi, Bulacan following the complainant’s repeated failure to appear in court.

In a two-page order dated Feb. 25, Judge Rowena Violago Alejandria of the Caloocan Regional Trial Court Branch 121 junked the complaint lodged against Roque for lack of evidence.

Also cleared were Jonjon Roxas, councilor of Pandi, and local government employee Roel Raymundo Jr.

The judge said Mikaela Mariano Buico failed to appear in court despite being served a subpoena. Records also show that she “could not be located.”

The Department of Justice had earlier flagged inconsistencies in the case, including Buico’s false address, a potentially fabricated medico-legal certificate and the lack of official records supporting the complainant’s allegations.

A document from the Philippine Statistics Authority presented by Roque’s camp also showed that Buico did not have birth, marriage or death records in the PSA database.

The court ordered the release of Roxas and Raymundo from the Pandi police station unless they are being held for other offenses.

Roque was nabbed on Dec. 17, 2024 on rape charges. The court quashed the warrant issued for his arrest, citing errors in the complainant’s address.

On Jan. 22, the Caloocan prosecutor withdrew the case for lack of evidence.

Roque, who voluntarily surrendered to police on Feb. 10, maintained that the case was fabricated to damage his reputation.