Senator Risa Hontiveros said she is not bothered with the four criminal cases filed against her by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) before the Office of the Ombudsman last September 25.
She said the cases filed against her is a “desperate attempt” to divert the people’s attention from knowing that Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre plotted against her.
“The cases filed … before the Office of the Ombudsman is a desperate attempt to deflect public attention away from their text conversation inadvertently captured by someone’s camera lens, which caught them red-handed plotting against me during a Senate hearing inside the Senate,” the senator said in a released statement.
In one of the civic group’s complaints, VACC stated that Hontiveros was allegedly engaged in wiretapping, which enabled her to release a photo of Aguirre’s text conversation with former representative Jacinto Paras on September 5.
The photo showed Aguirre asking VACC to expedite the cases against Hontiveros .
According to Paras, who is one of the complainants in the case, Hontiveros violated Republic Act 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Law.
“The fact that she used it, maximized its use, in a privilege speech to malign Secretary Aguirre and myself, being also alluded to… that’s an actionable interest on the case,” CNN Philippines quoted Paras as saying.
Paras admitted though that he indeed had a conversation with Aguirre.
“I will not deny that may mga text messages ako kay secretary. I have also texted secretary na pinupuna ko yung mga.. or maybe I have my own opinion on the kind of questions that Hontiveros was posing to that witness. So, if I was alluded to, I would admit that I may have texted,” Paras said.
Hontiveros was accused of obstruction of justice, kidnapping and failure to return a minor, and inducing a minor to abandon his home. She allegedly refused to turn over one of the witnesses, who is a minor, in the killing of Kian Delos Santos.
Source: CNN Philippines
Photo credit: Risa Hontiveros/Facebook
