JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday reacted to the "fake news king" tag his critics have labeled him after his flip-flopping statements implicating some government officials.
"That is false. I have never been a fake news king. Marami diyan ang fake news," Aguirre said on Monday in reaction to the ethics complaint filed against him by youth groups last Wednesday.
The group, which called Aguirre "fake news king," wanted the Ombudsman to hold Aguirre accountable for violating Section 4 of the Republic Act No. 6713 (An Act Establishing a Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) for repeatedly accusing other government officials of wrongdoing based on "unsubstantiated" information.
"Matagal na yan. It's a very small issue making a mountain out of a molehill. Yun lang. Hindi ka maaaring bumaba ng ganun," Aguirre said.
Aguirre dispelled the accusations against him and lashed out against the media for allegedly not writing down on their articles that the information he stated at an earlier press conference came from an intelligence report.
At a news briefing last June 7, Aguirre said he had received an information that Senators Bam Aquino and Antonio Trillanes III; Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano, and former Aquino government-official Ronald Llamas met with some prominent families in Marawi City before the siege began. He also flashed a photo of the said meeting with the media.
The above-mentioned government officials denied Aguirre's claim and said that the photo of the alleged meeting was taken not in Marawi, but in Iloilo airport in 2015. They urged Aguirre to apologize but to no avail.
"Unang una, hindi fake news yun. It is a raw intelligence report and I made clear to the media, sa inyo. Sinabi ko sa inyo na this is mere intelligence report. I have to validate it. I don't want to make speculation. Hindi nyo naman prinint yon. It was never a fake news," Aguirre said.
"Kayo ang hindi ang nagsabi ng katotohanan, ng buong katotohanan sa press con. Hindi niyo sinabi na meron akong precaution sa inyong lahat na this is only an intelligence report. I have to validate it. And i don't want to speculate," he added.
Aside from the alleged fake information on Marawi clash, complainants in the ethics case urged the Ombudsman to hold Aguirre liable for his statements saying that a Korean mafia is behind the killing of South Korean national Jee Ick-Joo last October.
The complainants also want Aguirre removed from his post for using the Department of Justice as a "fake news factory."
