Hontiveros clarifies letter of sister of witness in Kian slay

Senator Risa Hotiveros
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

Senator Risa Hontiveros has clarified that the letter of one of the witnesses to 17-year-old Kian delos Santos’ death to the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) was already outdated.

In the letter, the 22-year-old sister of one of the minor witnesses said she regretted giving to the Senate the custody of her sibling, saying she has not seen her sibling and two of her cousins since the Senate took them.

“Hindi ko po alam ang kahahantungan pala ng aking pinirmahan ay hindi ko na makikita ang aking kapatid at pinsan,” the sister said in her letter released by PAO on Thursday.

(I never thought that I will no longer see my sibling and cousins because of the consent I signed.)

Hontiveros, however, said that the concern of the guardian has already been settled by her camp. Last Friday, Hontiveros called for a press conference where the mother of the minor witness expressed her confidence that the Senate will protect her child.

“I believe the letter of the sister being circulated by PAO is an old one. That was before when the sister was a bit confused about the situation. I don’t know why PAO is using this old letter,” Hontiveros said in a text message.

“Right now, the sister of one of the witnesses to the Kian slay already signed an authorization letter giving her consent to the Senate to take protective custody of her sibling. In fact, she herself is under the care of the Senate,” she said.

The senator said they also have an authorization letter from the witness’ father giving his consent for the Senate to take custody of his child.

“I don’t know why PAO keep on raising the issue of custody when this is already settled. If PAO wants to get the testimonies of the witnesses, they are free to do so. In fact, the CHR, NBI and Ombudsman have already done so. It is only PAO who hasn’t. PAO doesn’t need to take custody of the  witnesses in order to get their testimonies,” she said.