Days after youth groups filed an ethics complaint against him for spreading misinformation, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre rejected being called the “fake news king.”
“That is false. I have never been fake news king. Marami diyan ang fake news,” Aguirre said on July 10 when asked to comment on the complaint filed against him last July 5.
The group and some of Aguirre’s critics called him “fake news king” after giving flip-flopping statements when he implicated opposition lawmakers in relation to the Marawi conflict.
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Millennials Against Dictators, Akbayan Youth, and other youth groups filed a complaint against Aguirre in violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. They sued Aguirre for spreading fake news using a 2015 photo about Senators Bam Aquino and Antonio Trillanes, Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano, and former political adviser Ronald Llamas for visiting Marawi City before the Maute group’s attack.
On July 5, #FakeNewsKing trended after the youth groups’ complaint was filed.
Aguirre considered the fake news issue a “very small issue.”
“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.
He also lashed out against the media for writing articles about him that he gave with a warning that he was only talking about “raw intelligence report” that has yet to be validated.
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“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 (media) 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 Aguirre’s use of an old photo to insinuate that the opposition lawmakers’ were linked to the Marawi siege, the youth groups’ complaint also urged the Ombudsman to hold the Justice Secretary liable for his remarks about the following:
- The Korean mafia being behind the killing of Jee Ick Joo and accusing the Korean embassy of being compromised by the mafia which the embassy denied and which led them to call out Aguirre for making “misleading statements”
- Senator Jamby Madrigal and Rep. Marlyn Alonte bribing Bilibid convicts which they denied
- Bilibid drug convict’s wife, Lalaine Madrigal Martinez, being ambushed but the Makati City Police chief denied it
The youth groups also want Aguirre to be removed from his position for treating the Department of Justice as a “fake news factory.”
Sources: ( sunstar.com.ph , inquirer.ne )
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