Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. (File photo by ARNOLD ALMACEN / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Nothing but a figment of her imagination.
This was how Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Sunday described the claim of detained Sen. Leila de Lima that the dismissal of the drug charges against Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino was intended to further malign her.
He also rued De Lima鈥檚 insinuation that the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop the criminal case against Marcelino was a trade-off for his freedom.
鈥淭here is no such thing. We don鈥檛 do that in the DOJ,鈥� Aguirre told the Inquirer in a text message.
鈥淪he was just imagining things. Maybe her conscience is bothering her,鈥� he said.
Besides, Aguirre said De Lima, President Duterte鈥檚 most vocal critic, 鈥渟hould not fear anything if she was innocent.鈥�
The feisty senator, who has been detained in Camp Crame since February on what she claimed were trumped-up drug charges, had questioned Marcelino鈥檚 supposed plan to testify against her.
De Lima said it was 鈥渙bvious鈥� that the Marine official鈥檚 release from prison last week was 鈥渋n exchange鈥� for his freedom.