Lawyers Ferdinand Topacio, Manuelito Luna, and former congressman Jacinto Paras on Thursday filed an ethics complaint against Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, accusing her of disorderly conduct and alleged witness tampering.
The complaint, submitted to the Senate Secretary’s office, enumerates allegations, including the recent recantation of Michael Maurillo (also known as Rene), a witness presented by Hontiveros in a Senate inquiry into supposed abuses inside the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound of televangelist Apollo Quiboloy.
Maurillo initially testified that former President Rodrigo Duterte received firearms from Quiboloy. However, he later withdrew his testimony, claiming he was “forced by Hontiveros” and allegedly paid ₱1 million to implicate Quiboloy, Duterte, and Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Maurillo accused Senator Hontiveros Baraquel of paying him P1 million to lie and implicate Pastor Quiboloy, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte. He thereafter retracted his testimony and cleared Pastor Quiboloy, former President Duterte, and Vice President Sara Duterte of any wrongdoing,” the complaint reads.
Hontiveros strongly denied the accusations, dismissing them as fabrications.
“My office has tons of evidence to prove that that person’s testimony is nothing more than lies. All witnesses presented during the Quiboloy Senate hearings freely and voluntarily offered their testimonies and the evidence they carried,” she asserted.
The complaint also revisited a 2017 controversy in which Hontiveros was accused of “kidnapping” minors when she allegedly kept custody of three children meant to testify in the Senate probe into the killing of teenager Kian delos Santos during a police anti-drug operation.
“We respectfully allege that the above actions of Senator Hontiveros-Baraquel constitute ‘disorderly behavior,’ a subject proper for investigation by the Senate pursuant to Article VI, Section 16(3) of the 1987 Constitution. No less than the integrity of the Senate is at stake in this complaint where the ‘disorderly behavior’ of a senator is being raised and complained of,” the complaint states.
In a separate interview, the complainants insisted the filing was motivated by “accountability.”
Paras stressed, “It should also be that if you have offenses, or even allegations of offenses, you are also accountable,” noting that Hontiveros often calls out Vice President Sara Duterte on similar grounds.