Risa Hontiveros to Aguirre: Look up decency in dictionary

Senator Risa Hontiveros said she violated no law when she presented in a privilege speech a picture of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre's supposed text exchange that showed a plot to hasten the filing of charges against her.

Hontiveros also continued on the offensive, saying there was nothing more offensive and indecent with what Aguirre's alleged plotting against her while attending a congressional inquiry at the Senate.

"There is no violation of privacy. There was no intent to tap or intercept his messages. The law is clear. What is prohibited is willfully and knowingly committing any acts constituting wiretapping," Hontiveros said.

"What happened can be likened to overhearing a conversation by a careless person talking loudly in public. In this case, it was a text conversation, which was inadverdently caught by someone's camera lens. Secretary Aguirre has the burden of proving that it was willfullly and knowingly done," she added.

Aguirre on Tuesday cried foul after his supposed text exchanges with a former congressman indicating plans to file a case against opposition Hontiveros were disclosed in a privilege speech on Monday.

"I condemn to the highest degree this shameless violation of a citizen’s right to the privacy of communications," Aguirre said in a statement.

"I am saddened, enraged and more importantly, afraid of how our rights to the privacy of our communication can easily be disregarded and trampled upon," he added.

Aguirre, however, would not say anything about content of the text exchanges when asked for confirmation by GMA News Online.

"May mas indecent at unethical pa ba sa ginawa ni Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre? He was caught red-handed plotting against a sitting Senator during a Senate hearing in the Senate," Hontiveros said.

"Mukhang kailangan magbuklat ni Secretary Aguirre ng dictionary at i-review kung ano ang kahulugan ng decency," she added.

Hontiveros said she found it "funny that some of the defenders of the justice secretary say that the text conversation is fake."

"If that is the case, how can I or the person who accidentally took the picture be liable for 'wiretapping' a fake text conversation?" Hontiveros said.

"Secretary Aguirre is shooting blanks. Pilit nagpapalusot. Sa hinaba-haba ng kanyang paliwanag, hindi niya sinasagot ang tanong, totoo ba o hindi ang text conversation kung saan nabisto siya na nakikipagkuntsabahan sa isang grupo para lutuin ang mga kasong isasampa laban sa oposisyon? That is the real issue here." —NB, GMA News