MANILA, Philippines — The night before he appeared at the Senate on Thursday, he gathered his family and got their blessings to finally tell the truth.

“I’m so pressured and in quandary because my family is at stake,” Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Aaron Aquino said after attending the hearing of the Senate committee on justice.

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Aquino said he was torn between the safety of his family and telling the truth.

“Hindi nga ako halos nakatulog kagabi because what I was thinking kung ano ang tama kong gawin. Naglalaban eh–between yung safety nung pamilya ko and yung sasabihin ko,” he said.

(I wasn’t able to get a good sleep last night because I was thinking what is the right thing for me to do. They are clashing–between the safety of my family ang what I am about to say.)

So he gathered his family and asked their opinion.

“I want to finally say the truth. And sabi nila [they said]: ‘The truth will set you free. Go ahead daddy. Papa, go ahead and say the truth,’” Aquino recalled his children telling him.

So during the hearing, the PDEA chief decided to tell the truth.

READ: Aquino recants; pins Albayalde on case vs Pampanga cops

The truth that the chief of the Philippine National Police, Gen. Oscar Albayalde, did not only inquire about the case of 13 policemen in the 2013 anti-drug operation but that he also requested not to implement the dismissal order against the involved officers.

Albayalde was Pampanga police chief when the 13 policemen were charged and ordered dismissed for grave misconduct. He was chief of the National Capital Region Police Office when he made the request to Aquino, who was the director of the Regional Police Office 3.

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But during Tuesday’s hearing of the committee, Aquino said Albayalde only inquired about the status of the case.

It was Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Mangalong, former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief, who disclosed that Albayalde asked Aquino not to implement the dismissal order.

Aquino, in an interview with reporters Tuesday, even denied Magalong’s claim.

But when he faced the committee on Thursday, he admitted that Albayalde indeed asked him not to enforce the dismissal order against the Pampanga policemen.

The PDEA chief though noted that he did not make up stories, as he only “omitted” some parts in his testimony out of fear for his family.

And now that the truth is out, Aquino heaved a sigh of relief.

“Parang nabunutan ng tinik [It’s like a thorn that was removed],” he told reporters.

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