DOJ chief decries king of fake news tag

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II yesterday denied the administrative charges filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly spreading fake news.

“That is false. I have never been a fake news king,” he told reporters when sought for comment on the complaint for violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees filed last week by Akbayan Youth, Millennials Against Dictators and other youth groups.

Aguirre said he did not spread fake news when he revealed in a press conference last June 7 the supposed intelligence information about the involvement of some opposition lawmakers in the attacks of the Maute terror groupA in Marawi City last May 23.

“First of all, that’s not fake news. It is a raw intelligence report and I made that clear to the media. I said this is mere intelligence report that I have to validate and that I don’t want to make speculations,” he explained.

Instead, the Department of Justice (DOJ) chief again blamed the media for wrongly reporting his statements.