Cabinet meeting ended with no word on Aguirre’s fate

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is flanked by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana during a Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday evening. MALACAÑANG PHOTO

Lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II will remain as the Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary after the Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Wednesday ended with no pronouncement from President Rodrigo Duterte on rumors about a shake-up in his official family.

Duterte’s spokesperson, Harry Roque, said the 24th Cabinet meeting adjourned around 11:50 p.m. Wednesday without any word from the President on a Cabinet revamp or Aguirre’s fate.

Aguirre attended the Cabinet meeting, a day after he underwent a routine medical check up according to his aides.

Rumors have been swirling that Aguirre is on his way out after Duterte had expressed anger over the dismissal by the DOJ prosecutors of the criminal charges against alleged drug lords including Kerwin Espinosa and Peter Lim.

The President had reportedly even told Aguirre that he would take the place of the drug suspects in jail if they allow them to escape accountability.

The public uproar caused by the dismissal prompted Aguirre to order a review of the case and launch a criminal probe against the investigating prosecutors, one of them is now a trial court judge in Lucena City. — BAP, GMA News