Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II (File photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday called his critics “ignorant” for calling for his resignation and accusing him of bungling the complaint the led to the dismissal of the drug case against businessman Peter Lim, self-confessed drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa, convicted drug lord Peter Co, and several others.
Earlier, Senator Risa Hontiveros called for a ‘radical overhaul’ of the country’s judicial system which was damaged by Aguirre’s actions and the government’s war on drugs.
READ: Hontiveros urges ‘radical overhaul’ of PH judicial system
Hontiveros said Aguirre “is a manufacturer and peddler of fake news. He is a cook of fake cases. And now, a reliable friend of criminal masterminds, extrajudicial killers, and drug lords.”
She has called on Aguirre to resign. A similar call was also made by members of the Akbayan Party-list who held a protest rally at the DOJ.
But Aguirre said, “Mga ignorante ang mga ‘yan. Kahit alam nila na tama ako, ginagawa nila ‘yan just to put us in a bad light.”
(They are ignorant. They know that I am right, but they keep doing that just to put us in a bad light.)
Still, Aguirre said he respects the valid exercise of freedom of assembly and expression but reiterated that he will remain for as long as he enjoys the trust and confidence of the President. /je