Hontiveros sues vlogger, others for cyberlibel

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

- — With Neil Jayson Servallos

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.