The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced Friday that it will lodge qualified human trafficking complaints against Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste, former Negros Oriental 1st District Representative Jacinto Paras, and five additional individuals implicated in an alleged “honey trap” scheme directed at government officials.
The legal action stems from accusations that female recruits were solicited to conjure fabricated claims against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto as part of a targeted character assassination conspiracy.
Leviste, who previously refuted any role in the alleged plot, took to social media on Friday to condemn the bureau’s claims as completely manufactured.
“NBI: National Bureau of IMBENTO, nag-iimbento ng kalokohan gamit ang buwis habang lubog ang bayan. Nakakaawa ang nangyayari sa ating bansa,” he said.
The camp representing Paras likewise dismissed the allegations. His legal counsel, Atty. Mark Tolentino, stated that should the government possess substantiating evidence against his client, it ought to “present such evidence before the appropriate prosecutorial and judicial forums.”