MANILA, Philippines?After attending an emotionally charged hearing at the Senate the other day, actress Katrina Halili Friday rolled up her sleeves and appeared bent on refurbishing an image she said had been tainted by allegations of drug use.

Already embroiled in a sex video scandal that is now the subject of Senate inquiry, Halili Friday filed libel charges against the mother of her former lover who alleged in television interviews that the actress was a drug user and had provided her son with banned substances.

Earlier in the day, Halili met with officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to deny the charges that surfaced along with sex videos of her and Dr. Hayden Kho Jr. The actress also volunteered to undergo drug tests in another agency instead of PDEA, agency Director General Dionisio Santiago told reporters following an hour-long closed-door meeting.

In a complaint filed in the office of Quezon City Assistant City Prosecutor Vesta Victoria Gener-Villamor, Halili, 23, filed two counts of libel against Irene Kho, alleging that the respondent made false and malicious remarks against her in interviews aired over ABS-CBN on May 25 and May 26.

Personal attack

Halili said the statements ?were all calculated to induce the public into believing that the complainant is a drug user and a ?pusher? when said malicious assertions are false and unfounded.? She claimed Kho?s statements caused dishonor and discredit to her person and reputation as an actress and a celebrity.

The actress pointed out in the complaint that she was already the victim in the sex video controversy. ?And yet, the respondent continued the personal attack against the complainant and resorted to character assassination by alleging matters not connected with the complaint for violation of Republic Act 9262 (Anti-Violence against Women and their Children),? Halili said.

Halili has already filed a complaint against Dr. Kho for violation of RA 9262 in the National Bureau of Investigation on May 20, and an administrative case as well in the Professional Regulations Commission on May 21.

At the PDEA earlier, the actress, together with two lawyers and manager Omar Sortijas, met with agency officials to answer a subpoena sent to her following Irene Kho?s allegations that were also backed by her during his testimony in the Senate on Thursday.

?So far, she said there was none (drug use). There was a denial, but we will talk to whoever has any knowledge of it. What happened today was just confidence-building,? Santiago said.

No bearing

?We will try to find out in future meetings if we can get more information that could help in the investigation. If there is none, then we have to declare that this investigation has no bearing on the issue, and we will just stick to the sex video angle,? he added.

The PDEA also summoned the Khos to appear at the agency headquarters in Quezon City Friday, but Santiago said the doctor asked to visit on another day after learning that there were media persons around.

Santiago said the PDEA would like to find out where the drugs came from and whether or not other celebrities were also supplied with the banned substances, to support the ?public admission by certain quarters.?

The agency had requested Halili to undergo tests to confirm Kho?s charges, but Santiago himself said the results would have no bearing on the agency?s investigation even if the tests turn out positive. ?What we are looking for is the source of the drugs,? he said.

Without giving names, Santiago said: ?There are certain individuals and sectors that are the subject of our investigation. Some of them, if they cooperate, can provide information to strengthen the case.?

Katrina?s choice

?We can choose where my client wants to go for drug testing,? said Halili?s lawyer Raymund Palad. ?We can go to the NBI, the (PNP) Crime Laboratory in Camp Crame or any reputable hospital.?

Santiago confirmed that Halili asked to be tested elsewhere, but he said he insisted the testing be done at the PDEA as it was the lead anti-drug agency. It also guaranteed confidentiality of the results, he added.

?If Katrina?s camp doesn?t agree, they can have it elsewhere. Our only request is that our chemists should also be there during the tests,? he said.

Meanwhile, a lawyer of Dr. Kho said they decided to submit their client?s counteraffidavit to the NBI unit conducting the investigation on the sex video scandal, adding that the contents were similar to what the doctor already said in the Senate.

Lawyer Herbert Hernane said he had advised his client to cut down on his public appearances for his own safety, citing an incident at the Senate on Thursday when Abner Afuang, a former policeman and Laguna town mayor, was quoted as saying that Kho was lucky he did not have a gun on him, or he would have used it on the doctor instead of pouring bottled water on him in an unguarded moment.

Research work

Leo Pascua, a lawyer-friend of businessman Eric Johnston Chua, also appeared at the NBI-Antifraud and Computer Crimes Division (AFCCD). Chua is suspected to have had a hand in the sex videos ending up on the Internet.

Pascua denied he was Chua?s lawyer, saying he was just doing ?research work.? A source at the bureau, however, said Pascua?s ?research? entailed getting copies of statements already submitted to the NBI.

Afuang, meanwhile, was ordered released Friday afternoon after he was held at the Pasay City police headquarters Thursday night for disturbing the proceedings at the Senate.

Saying he was not sorry for what he did, Afuang admitted he was angered by how Kho treated the women in the sex videos, ?and I was reminded of my daughter.?

The former town official said he was one to fight for his convictions.

At the height of the trial in Singapore that led to the execution of domestic helper Flor Contemplacion in 1995, he launched a hunger strike and burned the Singapore flag.

Afuang?s exploits as a police officer were also the subject of a movie, ?Afuang: Bounty Hunter.? With reports from Jeannette I. Andrade and Niña Catherine Calleja