Senator Grace Poe. PHOTO FROM SEN. GRACE POE’S OFFICE
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II should administer justice fairly and not moonlight as a “perya barker” who agitates the crowds by asking them who they want to prosecute next, Senator Grace Poe said on Monday.
During Saturday’s rally of President Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park, Aguirre asked the crowd who they wanted him to prosecute next, to which the people shouted back the name of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
READ: Duterte supporters want Trillanes jailed next after De Lima
It was Aguirre’s office, the Department of Justice (DOJ), that filed the drug charges against Senator Leila de Lima, who is now detained at Camp Crame.
READ: De Lima arrives at Camp Crame after arrest
“This is a gentle reminder to the Justice Secretary: You are expected to administer justice fairly and not to moonlight as a perya barker who agitates the crowds,” Poe said in a text message.
“That high office entails prudent decision-making which is not served by tasteless stunts that incite the mob,” she said.
As Justice Secretary, Poe said, the people expect Aguirre to be the “voice of reason.”
“So you can only imagine how many of your countrymen felt betrayed when you abandoned it for rabble-rousing,” the lady senator said.
“I know that lawyers are given allowances for theatrics, but that night you clearly crossed the line, and in the process trample the ethics that guide you, by asking the people who to prosecute next, as if it were their choice.”
“To say that you have been carried away by the cheers is no excuse. A justice secretary should be made of sterner stuff, one who is never swayed by partisan provocation, because when he does, he betrays his oath and renders his very own self unfit for the job,” Poe added. RAM/rga