QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — Senator Leila De Lima compared Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre to a clown in a circus after he attempted to implicate opposition lawmakers in the Marawi City siege and later took back his allegations.
“Aguirre’s reputation as the clown of this administration has been further solidified with his bungling accusation linking members of the opposition to the Maute siege of Marawi,” De Lima said in a statement.
Not content, De Lima called Aguirre “stupid” for publicizing wrong information not supported by evidence.
“His basis – an outdated 2015 photograph of a gathering completely unrelated to the present context of the Marawi crisis – is as stupid as it is outrageous,” De Lima said.
“More than a clown’s bungling, Aguirre’s latest blunder therefore seems more like a calculated step to hype up the terrorist scare by painting a picture of a malevolent conspiracy behind the Marawi crisis involving prominent members of the opposition,” her statement said.
“This operation is now working overtime to deodorize martial law and to link those who oppose it to the Maute group or ISIS,” she added.