MANILA, Philippines – Jacinto “Jing” Paras, the man behind many of the complaints filed against top government officials during the current administration was appointed labor undersecretary by President Rodrigo Duterte. 

His appointment papers were signed on January 23 but released to media on Thursday, January 25.

Paras, a lawyer and member of the Duterte-allied Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), helped put together the botched impeachment complaint against Commission on Elections chief Andres Bautista and filed a complaint against Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang for his supposedly “unlawful disclosure” of the Duterte family’s bank transactions. (READ: From ‘Gang of Five’ member to VACC lawyer: Who is Jacinto ‘Jing’ Paras?)

Paras was also the textmate of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II during a Senate hearing. Their texts, immortalized by a photograph, showed Aguirre asking Paras to expedite a case against Senator Risa Hontiveros who has been very vocal against the violence under Duterte’s war on drugs.

Despite the two becoming the subject of criticism from other officials and the public in the aftermath of the “exposé”, Paras and Aguirre still played the victim and called Hontiveros’ move a violation of privacy – labelling it as wiretapping.

Paras’ designation comes after the appointment of his VACC colleague Dante Jimenez as chairman of Duterte’s Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission. – Rappler.com