Senator Risa Hontiveros INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
Senator Risa Hontiveros played down on Monday the charges filed against her, saying it only confirmed the “conspiracy” allegedly hatched by Justice Secretary Aguirre and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).
“Hindi ito dapat bigyan ng katiting na halaga at pansin ng publiko,” Hontiveros said in a statement, reacting to the kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and wiretapping charges filed at the Office of the Ombudsman by former Negros Oriental Rep. Jing Paras.
READ: Hontiveros charged with kidnapping, wiretapping
She described the charges as 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.”
“This confirms the conspiracy hatched by Secretary Aguirre and his VACC to ‘expedite’ the filing of cases against me. It also confirms that the ‘Cong. Jing’ whom Secretary Aguirre was texting was former Representative Jacinto Paras,” Hontiveros, a member of the Senate minority said.
The senator, in a privilege speech, earlier presented photos of Aguirre’s exchange of text messages with certain “Cong. Jing” inadvertently taken by photographers during a Senate hearing last Sept. 5 on the spate of drug killings.
She said “Cong. Jing” could be Paras, a member of VACC. The text exchange supposedly showed an alleged plot to file charges against her.
“Bistong-bisto na, buking na buking na, nagpapalusot pa. Nais pa magtago sa likod ng mga walang batayang kaso,” Hontiveros said of the cases.
“Hindi ito dapat pag-aksayahan ng panahon at pansin ng mamamayan. We will not be distracted. Tuloy ang ating kampanya para sa katarungan at para panagutin si Secretary Aguirre at pagbitiwin siya sa kanyang puwesto,” the senator added. /je