Aguirre libel threat a ‘desperate’ maneuver–Hontiveros

Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday dismissed the threat of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to file a libel case against her as “nothing but a desperate attempt” to divert public action from controversial decisions he had made and to “sidetrack growing public calls for him to resign.”

She said Aguirre was actually the source of malicious and defamatory statements.

“If Mr. Aguirre can’t take it, he shouldn’t dish it,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

She alleged that Aguirre manufactured and peddled fake news against the political opposition, including one in which the secretary said Senators Bam Aquino and Antonio Trillanes IV had links to the Matute terrorist group.

She also said Aguirre linked Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to a drug syndicate. —Christine O. Avendaño