Rep. Villarin: ‘Ban phone snatcher from House’

MANILA, Philippines — Akbayan party-list Rep. Tom Villarin has asked his colleagues to ban Labor Undersecretary Jacinto Paras from the House of Representatives.

“Mr. Speaker, I seek your support to have Undersecretary Paras censured by the House and be banned from entering our premises until full redress of my grievances has been settled,” Villarin asked in a privilege speech Wednesday night.

Villarin accused the former Negros Oriental congressman of theft for taking his cell phone in a session hall last week

Villarin said he could have easily forgiven Paras if he had apologized, but was surprised to learn that Paras lacked decency.

“I am a forgiving person, Mr. Speaker… if he could have just approached me in contrition from the day he got my phone until yesterday when it came out in the media. But sad to say, Mr. Paras is not a decent man,” he added. 

The incident bolstered his suspicions that it was more of a political act – he being in the opposition and Paras an appointee of President Duterte. 

“With his admission that this is political, it closes the loop why indeed an indecent man has the nerve to steal my cell phone. It confirms my fears about the reason why my privacy is being violated because this indecent person can gain favors with the powers-that-be.”  

Villarin’s complaint is pending before the office of State Prosecutor Christina Rosario-Osoteo.

“While he did not deny taking my phone and telling us that he might have accidentally taken it with him, a decent person’s instinct would be to personally talk to me and say how sorry he was,” he added, noting that the incident was fully captured on CCTV. 

“We should not let things like this pass,” he told a news conference Tuesday, adding Paras acted as if he were a member of the so-called “salisi gang” when he put his two hand phones on top of his cellular phone on the table. 

Villarin said Paras, who possibly wanted to extract “information” from his gadget, could not have opened his iPhone X, which is secure due to its latest facial recognition security feature.  

The independent opposition lawmaker said his phone went “missing for more than an hour” during a congressional hearing last March.  

For his part, Paras is considering filing a damage suit against Villarin for “destroying my good name.” 

“He said he already filed a complaint for theft against me. So why does he not wait for me to receive a copy of his complaint and let me answer?” Paras said in a statement, stressing his entitlement to due process of law.

The lawmaker, he added, has resorted to public shaming through a privilege speech as “squid tactics because his complaint is very weak and has no leg to stand (on).”

“He cannot get the proper authority to rule in his favor because he is a big liar,” Paras said, adding that Villarin has used a privilege speech “as his political propaganda ahead of the dismissal of his complaint which has no basis in law.”

The labor official also questioned Villarin’s right to call for his banning at the House of Representatives, where he had been a three-term congressman.  

“Villarin is the one who is indecent. Using the plenary to deliver his so called privilege speech to spread his lies and make malicious accusation against me is cowardice,” Paras added. – With Sheila Crisostomo