Wiretapping case vs Hontiveros a harassment suit — opposition senatorsMANILA, Philippines — Two members of the Senate minority this week condemned the indictment of Sen. Risa Hontiveros for a years-old wiretapping complaint that they said was a "harassment suit" filed against her by former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre. "We stand in solidarity with Sen. Risa Hontiveros as she faces the wire-tapping case resurrected after years in slumber," Sen. Francis Pangilinan, a candidate for vice president, said in a statement written partially in Filipino. These same arguments were made by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, a former justice secretary, when Aguirre first threatened to file a wiretapping complaint against Hontiveros in 2017. In a statement, she called the case "meaningless and baseless," adding that she was "determined to fight this harassment." "After [Hontiveros] was charged by Pharmally for bravely investigating their anomalous contracts with the government, this wire-tapping case is revived."

Source: Philippine Star December 30, 2021 03:38 UTC