CEBU CITY -- Mayor Tomas Osmeña on Friday welcomed the resignation of Vitaliano Aguirre II as Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary.
The mayor said Aguirre’s resignation signals the start of his battle against SM Prime Holdings and Banco de Oro (BDO), both of which he accused of tax evasion.
“My enemy now is SM,” Osmeña said in a press conference held in his office.
“In the (2019) elections, my enemy will be SM. It will be all SM. I will expose SM as the most corrupt corporation in the Philippines.”
Osmeña believes that the tax evasion case he filed against SM and BDO will finally prosper now that Aguirre is no longer justice secretary.
The Philippine News Agency (PNA) tried but failed to reach the SM Prime Holdings regional management for comment.
Earlier, Aguirre threatened to file charges against the mayor who accused the DOJ executive of allegedly accepting bribe money from SM and BDO, and interfered in the city’s case against the two large business establishments in the country.
Aguirre also accused Osmeña of being a drug protector based on the affidavit of purported witness Reynaldo “Jumbo” Diaz, a cousin of slain drug lord Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz.
The mayor denied the allegation and in turn dared Aguirre to file charges against him.
Osmeña said he hopes Aguirre will push through with the filing of formal complaint against him so he can have a proper venue to answer the charges.
“I hope Aguirre will continue to file charges against me so I can answer it. I’m not avoiding the issue. I’m ready, willing, and able to answer it,” the mayor said.
Aguirre tendered his resignation amid numerous criticisms over the DOJ’s dismissal of charges against alleged drug lords Peter Lim and Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr., as well as his move to put pork-barrel-scam queen Janet Napoles under the government’s witness protection program.
On Thursday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he accepted the resignation of Aguirre during the awarding of outstanding farmers, fisherfolk, and coastal communities in Malacañang Palace.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra was named to replace Aguirre as head of the Justice Department. (PNA)
Photo courtesy of the Cebu City Public Information Office
