We all know the fable. A shepherd boy, bored and seeking attention, cries “Wolf” to fool the townsfolk. Twice, come running – only to find no danger. By the third time – when the real wolf finally appears, no one believes him anymore. The sheep are devoured. In some versions, so is the boy.
That’s the classic fable. But today, in our country’s political theater, the fable has been flipped, the sheep are watching TikTok, and the wolf has access to troll farms.
Let me tell you a story – not of a mischievous boy, but of a frightened man named Michael Maurillo. Not of a real predator in the shadows, but of one hiding in plain sight. And not of villagers duped once, but a whole nation misled again and again, in local dialect: nabudol.
A Fable Reimagined
If we were to stage The Boy Who Cried Wolf today, it wouldn’t be a tale of youthful trickery – it would be the story of a victim coerced into deceiving the public, with a dangerous predator manipulating the narrative.
Maurillo (or Rene, as he’s known in the Senate testimony) was no playful shepherd. Once a whistleblower, he first came forward, voluntarily approached Hontiveros’ office, claiming horrific abuse at the hands of Apollo Quiboloy – a controversial religious leader now facing trafficking charges – and one among the list of FBI Most Wanted.
Fast forward to this week: A video goes viral. Rene, now recanting under suspicious circumstances, says he lied. He says he was bribed P1 million by Senator Risa Hontiveros to testify against the Dutertes and Quiboloy. Says Hontiveros is the hand behind the alleged manipulation, falsely accusing her as the “wolf,” and subsequently being targeted by a viral video campaign.
And just like that, the villagers – we, the Filipino people – are being told that the wolf is someone else entirely. A scandal explodes.
Except – it doesn’t add up.
“Nasaan diyan ang pinilit? Muli, siya ang una at paulit-ulit na lumapit,” Hontiveros said, emphasizing that Maurillo voluntarily approached her office multiple times to testify against the Dutertes and Quiboloy.
Hontiveros swiftly filed cyber libel complaints against Maurillo and several vloggers who amplified the video, including Trixie Cruz-Angeles, Rob Rances, Jay Sonza, Krizette Chu, Sass Sasot, Banat By (Byron Cristobal), Tio Moreno, Ranny Libayan, Joie Cruz and Eric Celiz.
She also revealed that just days before the video dropped, Maurillo had sent a frantic message to her staff:
“Help me, I have been kidnapped and being threatened by [KOJC], I’m held in captivity at the Glory Mountain… send rescue now.”
Receipts and Red Flag
Senator Hontiveros presented records:
- Emails from December 2023 where Maurillo wrote: “Ano po ang aking maitutulong?” and detailed abuse he suffered under Quiboloy.
- A denied request for financial aid to buy a laptop in keeping with her office policy – refuting the P1M bribery claim.
- Maurillo’s original affidavit which already named the Dutertes – contradicting his claim that he was told to include them.
A Pattern of Political Fakery: When the Wolves Write the Script
This isn’t the first time the Duterte machinery has used disinformation and coerced witnesses to silence critics:
Fake Witnesses: The Leila de Lima Saga
Remember Senator Leila De Lima? She was imprisoned for 7 years based on testimonies from convicted criminals. Key witness Rafael Ragos later recanted, admitting he was coerced into lying.
The “Bikoy” Narco-list Scam
Peter Advincula (“Bikoy") accused the Dutertes of drug links, then recanted and claimed the opposition made him do it. He was later convicted of perjury exposing a political smear campaign.
The Bank Account That Never Was
Let’s not forget Duterte’s false claim about Senator Trillanes’ offshore accounts - a lie Duterte later admitted on live TV - about a fabricated Singapore bank account he used to smear Senator Trillanes.
The Oust Duterte PowerPoint Extravaganza
The absurd Oust Duterte Matrix? A supposed media conspiracy exposed by the Manila Times and backed by Malacañang. It was widely debunked as a pure hoax. No evidence. A tactic to intimidate dissent.
Troll Farm Chronicles: The P10M Meme Machine
And perhaps most dangerously: P10 million troll farms used to manipulate public opinion and choke real discourse, as revealed by the University of Oxford study. Duterte later admitted: “They were all during the campaign.”
The Drug War: When Planting Evidence Was a Government Service
Former Sen. Trillanes presented bank documents linking Duterte to drug syndicates, calling the drug war a “fake war to protect his syndicate.” Numerous reports of planted evidence and extrajudicial killings along with the entire drug war narrative built on fear than facts, have been documented by international watchdogs.
“Just like what happened during the Pharmally hearings, witnesses are threatened after testifying, then later recant. This is the real modus. This is witness-tampering,” Hontiveros said.
Former president Duterte betrayed the public trust by allowing Pharmally Pharmaceutical with a paid-up capital of P625,000 to corner pandemic contracts worth billions of pesos.
Are you seeing the pattern here?
Each case – discredited, distorted, debunked – follows the same playbook: create a lie, find a vulnerable voice, amplify through disinformation networks, and watch the public turn on those asking questions.
The Real Wolf: A Dangerous Game of Deception
So here we are. The real wolf – the machinery of coercion, propaganda, and political vengeance – is not only alive and well but now convincing us the sheepdog is the danger.
This isn’t about one senator or one video. It’s about a systematic effort to discredit truth-tellers and protect the powerful.
Senator Hontiveros isn’t crying “wolf.” She’s warning us about one. And if we ignore the warning because of one manipulated voice, how many more truths will go unheard?
The Moral of the Story?
Aesop warned us that liars lose credibility. But in this twisted version, truth is the casualty, and the real wolf cries “wolf” to distract us from its fangs.
When wolves cry “wolf,” it’s the truth-tellers who get devoured.
So, let’s not be the villagers who fall for the same trick twice. Let’s be the ones who ask: “Who benefits from the lie?” And more importantly – “Who’s afraid of the truth?”
Content & editing put together in collaboration with Bing Microsoft AI-powered Co-pilot & Grammarly
Head collage photos courtesy of Rappler & Deposit Photos, design by Canva
Still photos courtesy of Rappler, Inquirer, Abogado, The Defiant, Panay News, Facebook, Politiko, Vera Files, Dreamstime, DW, Sun Star, & Pexels
