Aguirre denies ignoring P6.4-B shabu case

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II yesterday contested the report of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee censuring him for supposedly ignoring the case involving the P6.4-billion shabu shipment seized last May.

Aguirre cried foul after accusations of being “unbecoming” of a justice secretary with his supposed “cavalier” attitude in dealing with the case by the committee report issued by its chair Sen. Richard Gordon.

The report said Aguirre gave the “impression that he did not give this case the needed attention” and instead left the matter to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and his subordinates.

“The Secretary of Justice has to do more in helping solve the problem on drugs. It was disheartening to note that, in the hearing of 19th September, he seemed to have given up on this case,” it stressed.

Aguirre questioned the finding, which he believed was based only on Gordon’s opinion.

“That’s his opinion but I vehemently deny that because his observations are absolutely without any basis, except for the fact that I have many things to do,” Aguirre said.

He stressed that the DOJ immediately created a panel of prosecutors, which has already started the preliminary investigation of the case filed by the NBI and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Aguirre added that he immediately issued an immigration lookout bulletin order against the respondents in the complaint filed by NBI.

Last week, he revealed that the DOJ is also set to issue another lookout bulletin against former Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, former Customs Investigation and Intelligence Service (CIIS) chief Neil Anthony Estrella and other respondents in the complaint filed by PDEA.

In response, Estrella said they would not go into hiding and vowed to face the charges in case they would be filed in court.

“We have strong faith in our justice system and our government institutions involved in the administration of justice. We are confident that we will be cleared after the DOJ sifts through the faulty complaint filed by PDEA. We will not go into hiding, we will face our accusers in court if need be,” Estrella said.

The CIIS coordinated with the PDEA and the NBI on the seizure of the shabu shipment and the arrest and identification of the personalities involved in the thwarted smuggle attempt.

“We had nothing to do with the smuggling of the shabu shipment or how it passed through the green lane where there was no inspection conducted, Estrella lamented.