Roque tagged as brains behind ‘polvoron video’

VLOGGER Vicente Bencalo “Pebbles” Cunanan has pointed to former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque as the person behind the viral video of a man, allegedly President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM), sniffing a powdery substance believed to be cocaine. During the House tri-committees' inquiry into the spread of fake news online and other cybercrimes, Cunanan submitted a sworn affidavit, identifying Roque as the source of the so-called "polvoron video," which allegedly aims to undermine the credibility of Marcos.

Cunanan said during a private dinner with some vloggers and supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte, following a Maisug Rally in Hong Kong on July 7, 2024, Roque revealed that he had received a screenshot of a supposed video showing Marcos using cocaine. “Bagaman hindi niya naipakita sa amin ang litrato noong gabing iyon, nagkaroon ng mga diskusyon tungkol sa pagpapakalat ng video ito sa publiko. Ayon sa aking rekoleksyon, mayroon pa ngang naging usapan na isang foreign influencer o vlogger ang dapat mag-post o panggalingan ng video para magmukhang mas kapani-paniwala at upang maiwasan ang anumang posibleng pananagutan mula sa gobyerno ng ating bansa,” Cunanan said.



(Although he didn't show us the picture that night, there were discussions about spreading the video to the public. From what I recall, there was even talk that a foreign influencer or vlogger should post or be the source of the video to make it seem more credible and to avoid any possible accountability from the government of our country.) “Ngunit, higit sa mga ito, ang labis ko ding natandaan noong gabing iyon ay nang sabihin ni Atty.

Roque na ‘Magaling ako magpabagsak ng gobyerno.’ Base sa pagkakaintindi ko, at dahil iyon ang isa sa mga pinagusapan ng gabing iyon, ang pagpapakalat ng video na kung saan gumagamit di umano ng cocaine si PBBM ay parte ng sinasabi ni Atty. Roque na pagpapabagsak ng gobyerno,” she added.

(But more than these, what I particularly remember from that night was when Atty. Roque said, "I’m good at bringing down governments." Based on my understanding, and because that was one of the topics discussed that night, the spreading of the video, in which PBBM is allegedly using cocaine, was part of what Atty.

Roque meant by bringing down the government.) Cunanan said the video was first shown during a Maisug Rally in Vancouver, Canada on July 20, a day before the third State of the Nation Address (Sona) of Marcos. She also submitted to the committee the two versions of the video, the raw and the enhanced version, which was edited to make it appear that the man using alleged illegal drugs was Marcos.

“Kung kaya naman, base sa aking mga nabanggit, ako ay naniniwalang si Atty. Roque ang orihinal na pinagmulan ng polvoron video at ang siyang nagpakalat nito sa publiko upang sirain ang kredibilidad ng Pangulo,” said Cunanan. (Therefore, based on what I have mentioned, I believe that Atty.

Roque is the original source of the polvoron video and the one who spread it to the public in order to damage the credibility of the President.) 'Lies' In response, Roque said Cunanan’s statements were all lies. “Nalungkot ako.

Siguro talagang matindi ang pangangailangan dahil ang inaasahan lang niya ay online selling,” Roque said. (I felt sad. Maybe the need was really intense, because all he was relying on was online selling.

) “Reyalidad ‘yan ng buhay na kailangan mabuhay. Naaawa rin ako sa kanya,” Roque added. (That's the reality of life, you have to survive.

I also feel sorry for her.) Roque denied being the source of the polvoron video, noting that it came from someone very close to Marcos. Roque also said that he does not have the ability to bring down any government but the Filipino people has.

“May PowerPoint, may eksena, may eksaktong sequence. Lahat isinaayos para palabasing may kasalanan ako. Ganito ang palabas sa Bagong Pilipinas.

Kawawa ang taongbayan,” he said. (There’s a PowerPoint, a scene, and an exact sequence. Everything was arranged to make it seem like I was at fault.

This is the show in the New Philippines. The people are the ones who suffer.) Following the conduct of a forensic examination on the said video, the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation earlier both expressed confidence that the man sniffing a powdery substance believed to be cocaine was Marcos.

PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group director Brigadier General Ronnie Cariaga said a Deepware artificial intelligence (AI) detection tool with multiple algorithms revealed that the video was fake and was created using AI. Meanwhile, the House panel has cited in contempt four pro-Duterte vloggers, Sass Sasot, Jeffrey Celiz, Lorraine Badoy, and Mark Lopez, over their repeated failure to show up in the inquiry. (TPM/SunStar Philippines).