JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has apologized to Senator Francis Pangilinan whom he earlier claimed of being involved in the alleged plan of offering legislative immunity to the Bureau of Immigration's (BI) ex-commissioners tagged in the P50-million extortion try "to pin him down."
In a manifestation submitted before the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on January 31, Aguirre clarified that Pangilinan was never involved in the plot against him.
"After verifying from my sources, and referencing the information we have, let me state for the record that the good Senator is not involved in any plot or any plan as reported earlier," Aguirre said.
"I apologize to Senator Kiko, a good public servant and an even better person, for any blemish caused to his unsullied reputation," Aguirre added.
On January 23, after the Senate investigation on the anomalies in the BI, Aguirre said three members of the Senate were planning to offer immunity to some of the personalities involved on the issue, in exchange of making him the most guilty in the extortion scandal.
The three Senators, whom he called "dilawan," are Senators Pangilinan, Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes III.
The P50-million extortion money was allegedly given to the commissioners in exchange for the release of nearly half of the 1,316 undocumented Chinese nationals arrested at gaming tycoon Jack Lam's casino operations in Clark, Pampanga. (SunStar Philippines)