‘Recycled lies, harassment’: Hontiveros hits ethics complaint
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros shrugged off an ethics complaint filed against her, calling it part of a series of “recycled lies.”
The ethics complaint, filed by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, stemmed from allegations of witness tampering against Hontiveros.
Michael Maurilio, one of the witnesses who testified against the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in Hontiveros’ probes, turned on the opposition senator.
Maurilio accused Hontiveros of bribing him, an allegation that Hontiveros formally denied.
“Recycled lies, harassment. Ano pa nga ba? Ako naman ay buong loob kong haharapin 'yung complaint nila once na mabasa ko,” Hontiveros said in a press briefing.
(Recycled lies, harassment. What else could it be? I will wholeheartedly face the complaint once I read it.)
Hontiveros said she was only bothered in the sense that there is much work to be done in the Senate, especially with the beginning of the budget season.
However, she said that her team had all the receipts and evidence when it came to the witnesses who testified.
The ethics committee has yet to be constituted for the 20th Congress, Hontiveros pointed out, as no one has been appointed to it.
Sen. Robin Padilla, an ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is the rumored frontrunner for the position of ethics chair. KOJC founder and alleged sex abuser Apollo Quiboloy is one of Duterte’s key allies.
Hontiveros did not dismiss the possibility that there were political colors to the complaint filed against her.
Regardless of politics, however, the opposition senator emphasized that an ethics complaint is a serious matter, especially with the amount of work that needs to be done in the Senate with budget deliberations looming.
Hontiveros has already filed a cyberlibel complaint against Maurilio and several other social media personalities who were tagged in the viral video against her.
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