Hontiveros sues vlogger, others for cyberlibel

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Risa Hontiveros yesterday sued former Senate witness Michael Maurillo, who claimed he was bribed by the senator to implicate detained preacher Apollo Quiboloy.

Hontiveros filed a 19-page cyberlibel complaint before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against Maurillo, who accused her in a Facebook video of bribing him to “take down” Quiboloy.

Hontiveros also sued the personalities behind the YouTube channel “Pagtanggol Valiente,” which she said was created only on June 24 – one day after Maurillo allegedly last contacted her office seeking help for supposedly being detained by members of Quiboloy-led Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) at their Glory Mountain property.

“As a public servant, I am open to criticisms, but I will not allow dangerous lies like this to be propagated, especially since I’m not the only target, but the witnesses, my staff and the Senate itself,” she said.

In her complaint, Hontiveros also asked the NBI to run after social media personalities who “deliberately contributed to the spread of false and malicious claims against me” by sharing Maurillo’s video.

These include former Palace press secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, former broadcaster Jay Sonza, Krizette Chu, Sass Sasot, Banat By (Byron Cristobal), Tio Moreno and lawyer Ranny Libayan.

Meanwhile, in another video uploaded on the “Pagtanggol Valiente” Facebook account, Maurillo denied Hontiveros’ remarks during a press conference on Monday that he was kidnapped by KOJC and he sought help from the senator’s office.

“First of all, I was not paid, forced, threatened or kidnapped by the Kingdom (of Jesus Christ) or the camp of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. There is no truth to the claims of Sen. Risa,” he said.

He said like the senator, he was ready to release evidence proving his earlier accusations that the senator was behind efforts to “destroy” Quiboloy.

“Senator Risa, I did not text anything to you, do not use me for your lies,” he added.

Last year, Maurillo testified that he saw Quiboloy, former president Rodrigo Duterte and then-Davao City mayor Sara Duterte with bags of firearms.

In the earlier video, he said Hontiveros bribed him with P1 million to make the allegations.

The video gained traction after Sen. Ronald dela Rosa shared it on his Facebook account.

Last Monday, Hontiveros presented screenshots showing that Maurillo personally emailed her office thrice starting Dec. 14, 2023. She said it took her office over a month to verify his statements.

As early as 2024, according to Hontiveros, Maurillo was being asked to recant his testimony to “shame” the senator. He also sought financial assistance in order to buy a laptop, but his request was denied.

Maurillo’s last correspondences were on June 22 and 23, when he frantically asked for Hontiveros’ help, claiming KOJC elements kidnapped him. The senator said since law enforcement isn’t part of her legislative duties, she forwarded his messages to authorities in Davao. — Neil Jayson Servallos