Aguirre calls critics ignorant for calling for his resignation

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday called his critics "ignorant" as they urged him to resign and condemned his department's decisions that led to dismissal of the complaints against of alleged drug lords and the "provisional" state protection conferred on Janet Lim Napoles.

"Mga ignorante ang mga 'yan. Kahit alam nila na tama ako, ginagawa nila just to put us in bad light," Aguirre said when asked for comment on a protest staged by members of the Akbayan Partylist outside Department of Justice (DOJ) gates.

He also made the comment when asked for comment on Senator Risa Hontiveros' statement that even Aguirre's resignation or sacking would be insufficient to repair the judicial system that she said he has "damaged."

“Calling for Mr. Aguirre's resignation is only appropriate. However, at this point, Mr. Aguirre's firing and/or resignation, like the reports that the President allegedly punched a wall in Malacañang out of anger over the dismissal of complaints against alleged drug lords, would be nothing but a desperate PR (public relations) move from the government to shore up support for its discredited drug war,” Hontiveros said.

He followed up his blunt remark with a more polished statement, saying he respected "the valid exercise of freedom of assembly and expression."

He stressed, however, that he would remain at his post "for as long as he enjoys the trust and confidence of the President."

Aguirre has earned flak for a decision of a panel of state prosecutors under the Department of Justice to recommend the dismissal of drug charges against businessman Peter Lim, confessed drug distributor Kerwin Espinosa, convicted drug lord Peter Co, among others, for lack of evidence.

The panel's resolution is up for automatic review by Aguirre himself. The police has also filed a motion for reconsideration appealing their case.

The Justice chief faced more criticism when news broke that Janet Lim Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the multi-billion pork barrel scam, has been "provisionally" covered by the Witness Protection Program since February 27 this year.

This does not yet mean she is a state witness, as "the determination whether or not a person is going to be used as a witness is done by the prosecuting officer in charge of the case," said Raymund Macate, an undersecretary of the DOJ. —NB, GMA News