SEN. Risa Hontiveros yesterday said her office will ask the National Bureau of Investigation to help identify the people behind the recantation of a Senate committee witness and file appropriate charges against them.
“This is only Step 1 and we will take further decisive action, including the filing of criminal complaints,” Hontiveros said in a press conference.
Hontiveros was referring to the case of Michael Maurilio, aka Rene, whose video uploaded on Facebook claimed he was paid P1 million by Hontiveros to falsely testify before a Senate committee hearing against Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.
She earlier denied Maurilio’s allegations, saying she has reason to believe that he was threatened or paid by still unidentified people to muddle the investigation into Quiboloy’s alleged crimes.
To prove her point that he was lying in the viral video, Hontiveros showed proof that it was Maurilio who persistently volunteered to tell what he reportedly knows of Quiboloy’s alleged illicit activities.
She said one of her staggers received an email from Maurilio on December 14, 2023, where Maurilio identified himself as a former landscaper at Quiboloy’s Glory Mountain, and that he left the KOJC due to alleged physical and sexual abuses.
“Because we take some time to vet e-mails, but when he felt like he was ignored, he messaged us two more times– on December 15, 2024 and January 28, 2024. We did not force him. Again, he was the first one to approach us. He freely and voluntarily offered his testimony and assistance,” she said in a mix of Filipino and English.
Hontiveros said Maurilio’s claims that he was forced by her office to implicate former President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte were not true.
She said Maurilio even asked for money to buy a new laptop, but his request was denied as it was against her office’s policy of “not providing financial assistance to potential witnesses.”
“He knew that. And yet now he claims we gave him P1 million? That’s a lie and he knows it,” she added.
Hontiveros also denied that she owns a condominium unit where she let Maurilio stay while testifying in the Senate.
She said Maurilio was transferred from a safehouse to another with the help of religious groups and the civil society to ensure his safety and security.
She said she would not be surprised if the KOJC paid Maurilio to recant his testimony since he admitted on February 22, 2024 that KOJC members whom he knows were convincing him to recant to humiliate her.
“Mag-recant daw ako para mapahiya si Sen. Risa especially daw ‘yung mga nakita ko sa mga Duterte. Bibigyan daw ako ng malaking pera, itatago daw ako at bibigyan ng magaling na abogado (I was told to recant so that Sen. Risa would be humiliated, especially on the information I gave about the Dutertes. I was promised a big amount of money, that they would secure me, and will be provided with a good lawyer),” Hontiveros said, quoting Maurilio.
She said 13 other witnesses against Quiboloy have reached out to her office to say that they were not paid by Hontiveros.
Hontiveros said Maurilio sent messages to her staff member on June 22 and 23 this year asking for help as he was reportedly kidnapped and detained at Glory Mountain.
“Help me, kinidnap ako at tinatakot ako ng kingdom, dito ako ikinulong sa Glory Mountain… send rescue now,” Hontiveros said, referring to the messages sent by Maurilio.
Hontiveros said they took his messages seriously and forwarded them to the PNP in Davao “for immediate action.”
She said the viral video went out while Maurilio was allegedly kidnapped and held in Glory Mountain.
“This is the real pattern here: After testifying in the Senate, witnesses are harassed and threatened, and then suddenly, flipped. So, let’s call this what it is: witness tampering, fake news, psychological warfare,” she said.
“I have consulted with my legal team and on Wednesday (July 2), we will file a complaint with the NBI. We will work with them for a full investigation into the people who created this video and the networks amplifying it,” she added.
She also called on the public, including one of her colleagues in the Senate, to stop sharing “fake news” on social media.
She did not identify her colleague, but Sen. Ronald dela Rosa shared the viral video on his official Facebook account.
“Para sa kin, kaming mga senador, dapat nag-share ng katotohanan. Dapat hindi kami nag-share ng fake news o tulad ng mga AI-generated video. Dapat hindi kami dapat nagpapadala o lalong hindi kami mismo ang nag-share ng anumang fake news (We senators must share the truth. We should not share fake news or the likes of AI-generated videos. We should not be influenced or we ourselves share fake news),” she added.
She said the recantation of Maurilio only shows that the Senate committee’s findings on Quiboloy are all true, as there are people behind the video who are trying to discredit the evidence presented during the inquiries.
