LP to Aguirre: Stop political harassment, revoke order to probe opposition leaders

The Liberal Party called on Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to take back his order directing the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a probe and case build-up against "some senators and other opposition leaders" linked to an alleged plot to destabilize the government.

"We demand that Department Order 385 be revoked and for Aguirre to stop the political harassment of members of Congress and the opposition, even as we continue to study our legal options against him," the LP said in a statement on Saturday.

Department Order 385 was issued after Aguirre accused Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Bam Aquino, Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, and Ronald Llamas, political adviser of former President Benigno Aquino III, of meeting with some political families before the Maute group's attack in Marawi City on May 23.

Aguirre said the May 2 meeting could have “sparked the terroristic acts in Marawi" and even used a photo to bolster his claims.

Trillanes, Alejano, and Aquino all denied the claim which earned Aguirre the ire of other senators.

'Squid tactics'

Aguirre's orders, the LP claimed, formed a "pattern of squid tactics" to mask Aguirre's connections to corruption scandals

"This forms a pattern of squid tactics as Aguirre himself has been embroiled in corruption issues, such as the P50-million extortion scandal in the Bureau of Immigration (BI), and his and his brother’s alleged involvement in small-town lottery (STL) in Luzon," the party wrote.

Aguirre was recently cleared of all connections to former Immigration deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles, who accepted a P50 million bribe from Jack Lam in exchange for the release of the gaming tycoon's illegal Chinese workers.

But the LP said Aguirre had earlier falsely accused now-Minority Senators Leila de Lima, Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, and Trillanes of offering "legislative immunity" in exchange of their testimony to pin Aguirre in the bribery scandal.

He later backtracked and apologized to De Lima and Pangilinan during a succeeding Senate hearing on the scandal.

Aguirre had also been accused of working with his brother, engineer Ogie Aguirre, to take over STL operations in Southern Luzon provinces, including Laguna, Batangas and certain Bicol provinces.

The LP also brought up Aguirre's accusation against former Senator Jamby Madrigal and PDP-Laban Congresswoman Len Alonte that they bribed the Justice secretary's witnesses against De Lima on the latter's drug cases.

Silencing the opposition

The LP claimed Aguirre "embarrassed the country" by linking people from the South Korean embassy to the kidnapping and killing of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo.

Furthermore, Aguirre's "absurd and preposterous" order and its timing supposedly showed the secretary's efforts to silence critics and the political opposition.

"As justice secretary, Aguirre holds the grave task of upholding the rule of law and administering justice after due process. From the looks of it, however, the justice secretary seems hell-bent on pinning down the political opposition and those critical of him and his administration," they said. — MDM, GMA News