Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Condoling with the family of former Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said he regretted that he never had the opportunity to reconcile with her.

READ: Miriam Defensor-Santiago passes away at 71

The feisty former senator passed away Thursday after battling with lung cancer.

In 2012, Aguirre earned the ire of Santiago after he cupped his ears with his hands while she berated the prosecution for dropping five of the eight articles of impeachment against the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.

READ: Vitaliano Aguirre gets slap on the wrist for ‘hear no Miriam’

Santiago called Aguirre’s act “intergalactic act of epal.” Aguirre, on the other hand, said like the senators, they as prosecutors also deserved respect.

Aguirre eventually apologized for his actions on national television, which Santiago accepted.

“I console most sincerely with the family of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago for her untimely demise. The country lost a great mind and an indefatigable leader and public servant,” Aguirre said.

“We both have some faults that could easily be forgiven. I have much to thank her for what happened to my life after that unforgettable incident during the impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Renato Corona,” he added.

Of all the controversial cases he has handled including the Vizconde massacre case as Hubert Webb’s counsel, as deputy counsel for the Feliciano Commission that investigated the Oakwood mutiny and as counsel for Davao City Mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte, he became most known because of the impeachment incident. Cupping his ears became his signature pose. RAM/rga