Grace Poe slams Aguirre for spreading fake news 'like a troll'

Senator Grace Poe on Thursday chided Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II for acting like a “troll,” following his false claims against opposition lawmakers.

In a statement, Poe said Aguirre is contributing to the proliferation of fake news when he failed to verify his accusations against Senators Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV and Antonio Trillanes IV, and Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano.

“As chair of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, I am alarmed by the proliferation of fake news on the internet both adversely affecting public and private interest,” Poe said.

“What makes it worse is when the Justice Secretary himself willingly exploits and amplifies such fake news like a troll without a modicum of effort to at least verify the same just to malign political opponents,” she said.

Poe said Aguirre “recklessly” linked the lawmakers to the Maute group, which is responsible for the attacks in Marawi City, “only to backtrack and offer excuses” hours later.

“I call on Secretary Aguirre to faithfully do his duty to serve public interest, and that requires siding with the truth,” Poe said.  

“Congress should look into these pernicious acts and hopefully come up with legislation to address this phenomenon and penalize perpetrators, referring to both authors of fake news as well as sites wittingly hosting the same,” she said.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, Aguirre said Aquino, Trillanes, and Alejano held a meeting in Marawi City on May 2 with certain families and local leaders.

He said the meeting, which was also allegedly attended by former Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas, could have “sparked the terroristic acts in Marawi."

By Wednesday night, Aguirre claimed he was misquoted by the media.

"What I said was that there were reports that some opposition senators and leaders went to Marawi to recruit local politicians and warlords to destabilize the Duterte administration," Aguirre said.

Aquino, Trillanes, and Alejano have all denied Aguirre’s allegations, showing proof that they were not in Marawi City on May 2, and were in fact in attendance at the House and Senate sessions.

Aquino said Aguirre had already apologized to him over the phone Wednesday night, and would issued a public apology Thursday.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also called out Aguirre, saying it is but proper that Aguirre retract his statements publicly.

“It’s the height of recklessness on the part of the justice secretary. He should stop making accusations out of thin air,” Drilon said.

“How many times has the justice secretary done this? It is becoming a vicious habit. Anyone can fall victim to this reckless practice,” he added. —JST, GMA News