PhilStar: Bum steer
In dispensing justice, credibility is indispensable. Credibility can only be eroded when the secretary of justice gets his facts, photos and public accusations wrong.
Never mind if Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II retracted yesterday his accusation that several opposition politicians notably Sen. Bam Aquino met with members of certain political clans in Marawi last May 2, during which they might have plotted a destabilization campaign linked to the ongoing siege in the beleaguered city. The entire story was flat-out wrong, from start to finish.
Whether Aguirre was the victim of a bum steer or deliberately peddled fake news, it was an appalling blunder on the part of the secretary of justice. This raises the question: which of his other serious accusations against administration critics are also wrong?
The only consistent thread in his latest accusation was the composition of the alleged destabilization cabal: anti-administration senators and a smattering of officials in the previous administration – the so-called yellows.
If there is any smidgen of truth in the suspicions of the administration about the involvement of the political opposition in the Marawi siege, it can only be undermined by public impressions that the secretary of justice is showing symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder while on a mission to persecute critics of the administration.
A quick, sincere public apology if not from Aguirre himself, then from Malacañang officials might have put the issue to rest. Instead the Palace aggravated the blunder by saying that Aguirre was doing “an excellent job.” If this is excellence, this government is doomed.
Even without a public apology from Aguirre, the opposition was the winner in this controversy. The individuals named in the supposed destabilization plot should go back to that airport coffee shop at the Iloilo international airport where they chatted and posed for a photograph way back in 2015. This photo was flashed to the media by Aguirre as his “proof” of the meeting last May 2 for the Marawi destabilization. Aguirre shot himself in the foot with his story. The opposition should celebrate over cups of coffee.
