Hontiveros: Aguirre’s wiretapping raps a ‘desperate attempt to deflect public attention’

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday shrugged off the criminal complaint Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II filed against her, saying that it was a "desperate attempt to deflect" the public's attention on the Cabinet official's supposed text messages with former Negros Oriental Representative Jacinto Paras.

During the resumption of the Senate probe on the killing of Kian delos Santos, Hontiveros said that Aguirre who was caught "red-handed" of plotting on expediting cases against her should be the "real issue."

"The case filed against me by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre [is] a desperate attempt to deflect public attention away from his text conversation inadvertently captured by someone's camera lens, which caught him red-handed plotting against me during a Senate hearing inside the Senate. This is the real issue here," Hontiveros said.

"Secretary Aguirre was caught conspiring and instigating private individuals to file case was against a sitting senator inside the Senate. Hindi rin naman tinatanggi ni Secretary Aguirre ang text conversations. 'Wag na tayo magpaligoy-ligoy pa Secretary Aguirre. Sabi ni Secretary Aguirre, bibigyan daw niya ako ng magandanag laban, magandanag laban? lutong Macau, Mr. chair? she added.

Earlier in the day, Aguirre filed a criminal complaint with the Pasay City Prosecutor's Office against Hontiveros for the disclosure of his supposed text exchanges with Paras during a Senate inquiry last month.

Aguirre accused Hontiveros of three counts of violation of Republic Act 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Act for alleged unauthorized prying into an exchange of private text messages and the subsequent act of making it public.

Meanwhile, Hontiveros said that the mere filing of the case before a prosecutor's office shows a conflict of interest.

"Isa sa kasong isinampa sa akin ni Secretary Aguirre ay kanyang hinain sa Prosecutor's office na  nasa ilalaim ng kanyang jurisdiction, maliwanag ang conflict of interest. This also confirms the conspiracy hatched by Secretary Aguirre to expedite the filing of case against me," she said.

"For the information of the Secretary, it's already game over, tapos na ang boxing. Bistong bisto na po kayo, buko na kayo, tama na ang pagpapalusot, tama na ang pagatago sa mga pekeng kaso panahon na para lisanin ninyo ang posisyon na lubos na niyong dinungisan," she added.

Constitutional right

Responding to Hontiveros, Aguirre remained firm that the issue is whether the senator violated his constitutional right to private communication while refusing to comment on the contents of the said text exchanges.

"Senator Hontiveros, ang usapan po ang issue eh viniolate ba ninyo ang Constitution natin at ang Republic Act 4200? 'Yan po ang  tunay na issue, 'yun pong contents ng aking cellphone na you took it in violation of my right to privacy," he said.

"'Yan po ay hindi niyo maaaring gamitin sapagkat 'yan po ay inadmissible, it is not existent kaya hindi po ninyo ako madadala doon sa issue as whether or not the contents of my cellphone messages ay paguusapan ay hindi po, hindi ko po kayo bibigyan ng pagkakataon na dalhin ninyo sa ibang lugar ang issue sa inyo," he added.

Aguirre then asked Hontiveros to name the photographer who allegedly took his photo "inadvertently."

"Titingnan pati yung kanayang mga camera at kung ano man ang nilalaman ng camera na 'yan para patunayan niyo na kayo ay in good faith at hindi niyo sinadya at hindi niyo pinagplanuhan ang pagkuha ng cellphone messages ko," he said.

"I do not want to comment on that because that might be a construed as a waiver of my right to raise the defense and raise the fact that it is inadmissible in evidence. Katunayan ang ating Konstitusyon Senator Hontiveros, it is inadmissible for any purpose kaya  hindi niyo ako maaring hilahin sa isang issue," he added. — RSJ, GMA News