Sen. Leila M. de Lima on Sec. Aguirre's accusation, linking members of the opposition to the Maute siege of Marawi
Dispatch from Crame No. 97

6/8/17

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. His basis - an outdated 2015 photograph of a gathering completely unrelated to the present context of the Marawi crisis - is as stupid as it is outrageous.

The objective of the fake news preceded any verification of the facts, which is to discredit the opposition's anti-martial law call as a pro-Maute and pro-terrorist position. The destruction of any and all opposition to martial law in Mindanao may embolden the regime to expand Martial Law throughout the rest of the country.

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. This is part of the fake news campaign where the people will no longer be able to determine truth from fiction, because the truth is whatever's is now manipulated by Duterte's cabal and their social media operation.

This operation is now working overtime to deodorize martial law and to link those who oppose it to the Maute group or ISIS.

Fortunately, so far not every garbage churned out by Aguirre and Malacañang's propaganda machine is successful in deceiving our people.

Like his boss, Aguirre has been lying about my alleged drug links. And he has no qualms lying, and sowing intrigues, about many other things.

Mga kababayan ko, yan po ang ating Kalihim ng Katarungan!