Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday likened Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to Pontius Pilate.
This after Aguirre asked supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte at the Quirino Grandstand rally on Saturday who they want to prosecute next after Senator Leila de Lima. Responding to the question, the crowd shouted back the name of Trillanes, staunch critic of the President.
“Alam nyo parang si Poncio Pilato, malapit- lapit pa naman yung Mahal na Araw (He is like Pontius Pilate. The Lenten season is approaching),” the senator said in an interview at the Senate on Monday.
“So anyway, it shows kung anong kalidad ng mga opisyal ng gobyerno (the quality of the government officials), especially (this) Secretary of Justice ito. I can’t stress that enough kaya nga hinarang ko yan, sinabi ko hindi talaga sya pang Secretary of Justice, para syang pang-barker ng political rally (that’s why I blocked his appointment, I said he is unfit to become the Secretary of Justice, he is like a barker of a political rally),” he added.
READ: Poe to Aguirre: You’re Justice Secretary, not ‘perya barker’
Trillanes opposed Aguirre’s confirmation at the Commission on Appointments after the latter called him names such as “son of a b****,” “coward,” “stupid senator” and “sundalong kanin” (useless soldier).
Aguirre apologized to the senator and was later confirmed by the Commission.
Trillanes said Aguirre’s remark during the rally clearly showed that De Lima’s arrest was a political persecution.
But he said he would not be cowed as he vowed to continue exposing the wrongdoings of the Duterte administration.
“Gawin nila ang gusto nilang gawin. Hindi ako natatakot dyan, hindi ako natitinag dyan so tuloy pa rin ang aking pag-expose sa mga kamalian nitong administration na ito (They can do whatever they want. I’m not afraid, I won’t be cowed so I would continue exposing the sins of this administration),” Trillanes said. RAM/rga