Alejano calls Aguirre ‘peddler of lies,’ shows proof he wasn’t in Marawi on May 2

Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano on Wednesday branded as a “complete lie” the allegation of Justice Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre II that he and other opposition lawmakers met in Marawi City—an encounter that the latter said may have led to the ongoing clashes in the area.

Alejano called Aguirre a “peddler of lies and prosecutor of the people” who oppose the policies of the Duterte administration.

“Such statement is irresponsible considering that the government has all the resources and manpower to validate any information before blurting out names in public,” he said in a statement.

“Aguirre's objective is just to destroy our reputation by feeding these lies to our detractors and their paid trolls [on] social media,” he added.

Alejano said “there was never a meeting” between him and the lawmakers, “much more a meeting held in Marawi.”

The solon, who filed the impeachment complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte, said he was at the House of Representatives last May 2, when he and opposition lawmakers allegedly met in Marawi, along with local leaders and former Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas. 

Through his office, Alejano released a portion of the House journal for that day, which showed his attendance at the plenary, as well as an entry in a logbook on the press conference.

Aguirre earlier said the May 2 meeting could have “sparked the terroristic acts in Marawi,” and asked the intelligence community to look into it.

He also said the government should check if the opposition lawmakers were the ones who brought money to Marawi following the discovery by the military of the P79 million in cash and checks from a stronghold of the Maute group in Marawi City.

Alejano, a former Marine captain who went against the Arroyo administration, reminded Duterte that his party-list represents former and retired members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“The Magdalo will in no way put the lives of our soldiers and police in danger. Many of whom are our classmates and friends from the Philippine Military Academy and colleagues when we were still in the active service. The Magdalo would never support or affiliate with any terrorist organization,” he added.

Aquino and Trillanes also denied the allegation, slamming it as “fake news.” — RSJ, GMA News