Trillanes asks Senate to probe Atong Ang accusations vs Aguirre, others

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has formally sought a Senate probe into Charlie “Atong” Ang’s accusation that two Cabinet officials were involved in an alleged plot to kill him for his gambling operations.

In Senate Resolution No, 354, which he filed on Tuesday, Trillanes urged the Senate committee on the accountability of public officers and investigations or the blue ribbon committee to conduct the investigation.

READ: Trillanes wants probe on alleged slay plot vs gambling operator

Ang, who operates the virtual jai-alai numbers game through Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. based in Cagayan Freeport, earlier accused Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon and other former military officials of using their agencies and positions in an alleged plot to kill him.

“If said accusation against these high executive officials of plotting to kill a person is founded to be true, it would be in violation, not only of the Revised Penal Code, as well as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which warrants the need for an immediate investigation,” the resolution said.

READ: Gambling operator links 2 Cabinet men, retired generals to slay plot

The gambling operator had also linked Aguirre in the Small Town Lottery operation through the latter’s brother, Engineer Ogie Aguirre.

Ang said the Justice Secretary was also the “ninong” or protector of casino junket operator Kim Wong, who was involved in the $81 million Bangladesh bank heist in February last year.

“If said accusation is true, this could validate Secretary Aguirre’s alleged involvement in the extortion and bribery controversy involving the Bureau of Immigration and Jack Lam,” the resolution said.

Lam, a gambling tycoon based in Macau, had been tagged in the alleged P50-million bribe to immigration officials supposedly in exchange for the release of his Chinese workers in Pampanga. IDL