Senator Leila De Lima and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. Composite/ File photo

MANILA - The dismissal of charges against confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa was "leaked" to the media by Department of Justice (DOJ) insiders linked to former secretary and detained Senator Leila De Lima, her successor Vitaliano Aguirre II said Monday.

Aguirre faced calls to resign last week after a panel of DOJ prosecutors cleared Espinosa, his alleged cohorts Peter Lim and Peter Co, and 19 others of drug charges due to insufficient evidence.

Aguirre said the decision was not yet final because it has yet to be reviewed by his office and should not have been made public yet.

"Siguradong mayroong nag-leak niyan. As to if I can find out, that's another question. Alam naman po niyo na noong nakaraang administrasyon, 6 na taon po iyan at napakaraming tao pa pong nariyan," he told DZMM.



(Someone surely leaked that. As to if I can find out, that's another question. The previous administration served for 6 years and many of its decision are still working in the DOJ.)

"Wala akong nakikita na [ibang] may motibo para i-leak iyan e," he added.

(I can't see anyone else with a motive to leak that.)

QUEZON POLITICS

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Left-leaning congressmen last week urged the justice secretary to step down over the issue.

The House minority bloc led by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, meanwhile, called on the President to review his Cabinet, saying Aguirre had "put under question the integrity of his office and attached agencies."

Aguirre said that Suarez had been hostile to him after his son announced that he will run for the third congressional post in Quezon province, which the lawmaker and his wife had held since the 1990s.



The Cabinet secretary maintained that he will not resign without any proof that he committed any wrongdoing in connection with the case's dismissal.

"Dapat po ang panawagang iyan (mag-resign) ay mayroong basehan. Mayroon ba akong pagkakasala? Ano ang nagawa kong pagkakasala? Besides, sa ngayon at this atmosphere, do you think that if I resign, that would clear my name? Hindi," he said.

(That call should have basis. Did I commit any wrongdoing? what was it? Besides, with the current atmostphere, do you think that if I resign, that would clear my name? It won't.)

Aguirre has set up a new panel to tackle the motion of reconsideration seeking to reverse the junking of the Epinosa case.

He has also ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to probe Reyes' original panel for any possible misfeasance, malfeasance or non-feasance or other violations of law.