Aguirre faces rough sailing in confirmation hearing

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday called on members of the Commission on Appointments to block the nomination of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II after revelations that he had allowed high-profile inmates to use communication gadgets in jail in exchange for testifying against Sen. Leila de Lima.

Sought for comment on Thursday, Trillanes said Aguirre’s act was tantamount to tampering with a witness, a grave violation for a justice chief.

“That’s witness tampering and it’s the worst thing a Secretary of Justice could possibly do. Objective members of the commission should be alarmed about this revelation and block Aguirre’s confirmation,” Trillanes said when reached via text message while on official business in the United States.

The commission had last week deferred Aguirre’s confirmation after Trillanes filed an opposition, saying the body should not accept his appointment for lacking the “required demeanor befitting the position of justice secretary.”

Trillanes, in two sworn oppositions filed before the commission’s committee on justice and judicial bar and council, also described Aguirre to be “vindictive” and “vengeful.” Aguirre is a schoolmate and fraternity brother of President Duterte at the San Beda law school.

His staff said Trillanes would be back by Feb. 15, when Aguirre returns to the commission seat for the continuation of his confirmation proceedings. The senator is expected to raise the latest allegations against the justice chief on his return.

Sen. Leila de Lima on Wednesday said in a press conference that Aguirre allowed high-profile convicts, among those who had testified against her at the House of Representatives drug inquiry last year, access to cellular phones and internet connection, and use of smart televisions and air-conditioning units.

A confidential document obtained by the Inquirer confirmed the lawmaker’s claims, showing how the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which had agreed to hold eight of the inmates at its Custodial and Detention Center in September, cited how contraband had reached the hands of the inmates.

The Dec. 9 memorandum from the Bureau of Corrections showed that the agency, along with the Philippine National Police, tasked to guard the inmates even while in a military facility, “invoked that they are just following the express instruction of the Hon. Vitaliano Aguirre II to allow the entry of the above-enumerated gadgets in return for the testimony they gave during the congressional inquiry on the proliferation of drugs inside New Bilibid Prison.”