JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II is willing to cooperate with the Senate probe into the alleged "fake news" being released by him and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar to the public, an official said.
"As per [Aguirre], if called to appear before any probe on the issue, he will be there with the truth as always," said Justice Undersecretary Erickson Balmes in a text message on Wednesday.
In Senate Resolution 315, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said it is the responsibility of Congress to ensure that government officials will not abuse the platform accorded to them by spreading "propaganda and lies."
The senator cited as example Aguirre's statement tagging former senator Jamby Madrigal and Laguna Representative Marlyn Alonte-Naguiat in the P100 million bribe try to the high-profile inmates who earlier testified against Senator Leila de Lima in the House of Representatives.
Trillanes added that Andanar's statement that the senate media were offered bribe to cover the press conference of a self-confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) hitman Arturo Lascañas was also an example of fake news.
Balmes, relaying Aguirre's message, in a statement added: "However, [Aguirre] asks that the probe must include government officials who present fake and lying witnesses before senate investigations."
Trillanes filed resolutions which sought a Senate investigation both for Lascañas and alleged DDS hitman Edgar Matobato. Lacañas and Matobato tagged President Rodrigo Duterte as mastermind in the killings. (VoxPop Philippines)
