Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre is facing the Commission on Appointments (CA) for the second time.
On Wednesday morning, Aguirre reiterated his apology to Senator Antonio Trillanes, whom he had called “sundalong kanin” after he suspected that the senator was behind a campaign to link him to the bribery-extortion scandal that rocked the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
At the CA hearing in the Senate, Trillanes maintained his opposition to the confirmation of the justice secretary.
When lawmakers expressed their concern about alleged extrajudicial killings, Trillanes used this opportunity to say that the justice secretary has no plans of looking into these alleged cases.
“I believe, based on his actions and involvement, that he cannot and will not investigate these incidents because he will just follow his principal who wants to kill people,” Trillanes said, referring to President Rodrigo Duterte.
Trillanes also urged other members of the commission to block Aguirre’s confirmation.
“I can understand the pressure of standing up against the President. But please stand up for your principle,” he said.
During the proceeding, Aguirre was also grilled on the bribery-extortion controversy at the BI and on the alleged confidential memorandum supposedly returning the privileges of New Bilibid Prison’s high profile inmates currently detained in Camp Aguinaldo.