Hontiveros accused of wiretapping, kidnapping at Ombudsman

MANILA, Philippines (Update 4, Sept. 26 9:57 p.m.) — Sen. Risa Hontiveros is now facing multiple criminal complaints of "harboring" underage witnesses and exposing a text message from Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre.

In a 20-page complaint, lawyer and former Negros Oriental Rep. Jacinto "Jing" Paras, accompanied by two other lawyers, Eligio Mallari and Nestor Ifurong, urged the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate Hontiveros for obstruction of justice under Presidential Decree 1829, kidnapping under the Revised Penal Code, abuse and exploitation of minors under Republic Act 7610 and three counts of violation of RA 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Law.

Paras is affiliated with advocacy group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption which has supported President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

The VACC was behind the case against detained Sen. Leila de Lima, who is accused of benefiting from the illegal drug trade in the national penitentiary. The group, however, denied having a hand in the complaint against Hontiveros.

READ: On Duterte's side: The phases, faces of VACC

Wiretapping

The complainants accused Hontiveros of wiretapping for showing, in a privilege speech at the Senate, a photo of Aguirre seen texting someone during the probe into the killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos.

Hontiveros said that when the photo was zoomed, it revealed that Aguirre and a member of the VACC, a certain "Cong Jing," were supposedly in connivance to speed up the filing of cases against her.

"Respondent Hontiveros-Baraquel in connivance with John Doe (photographer) committed the criminal offense of violation of the Anti-Wiretapping Law or Republic Act 4200 by using a device (camera) to secretly record a private communication between a certain Cong. Jing and Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre consisting the exchange of text message between the two... without being authorized by both parties who were in communication with each other," the complaint read.

Aguirre then decried intrusion of his privacy for Hontiveros' supposed exposé but has not denied nor confirmed the content of the message.

During the interview, Paras similarly refused to confirm if he was the "Cong Jing" captured in the photo of Aguirre's cellphone screen.

"I will not deny that I may have sent text messages to Secretary Aguirre. I have also texted the Secretary criticizing the way Hontiveros was posing questions to the witness. If I was alluded to, I admit I may have texted but I was not able to receive his text message or I might have not read because of the many messages I received [that day]," Paras said.

He maintained that "recording a private communication using any device where such recording is not authorized" constitutes wiretapping.

'Kidnapping' underage witnesses

The obstruction of justice, kidnapping and abuse and exploitation of minors charges stemmed from Hontiveros' move to take into the protective custody of her office three witnesses—all minors with ages 13, 9 and 6—from August 19 to September 3. The children supposedly witnessed the killing of Delos Santos.

The complainants alleged that Hontiveros took them without informing the authorities of their whereabouts, without court authorization and despite demands of the Public Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice working on the case to turn them over.

Hontiveros responds