ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider devider Sen. de Lima seeks for the investigation of ex-SOJ Aguirre for alleged human trafficking

Sen. de Lima seeks for the investigation of ex-SOJ Aguirre for alleged human trafficking

Published Apr 12, 2019 05:10 pm
By Hannah Torregoza Opposition Senator Leila de Lima on Friday said she would soon file a resolution asking the Senate to investigate the allegations made by columnist Ramon Tulfo detailing about the human trafficking syndicate operating within the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), supposedly being protected by former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. De Lima said she would file the resolution seeking an investigation into the allegations of human trafficking which tagged the former justice secretary as the supposed protector of the syndicate. Senator Leila de Lima (REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco / MANILA BULLETIN) Senator Leila de Lima (REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco / MANILA BULLETIN) “Read last night the successive Facebook Posts (as printed by my staff) of Mr. Ramon Tulfo and his April 9 and April 11 articles on an alleged human trafficking syndicate within NAIA, with the former SOJ Vitaliano Aguirre as the alleged protector,” de Lima said of the Manila Times columnist. Tulfo, in his column, also mentioned middle-level officials of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) who are now multi-millionaires for being leaders of the said human trafficking syndicate. De Lima, chair of the Senate committee on social justice, welfare and rural development, stressed that human trafficking—“like drug trafficking—is an evil scourge that bedevils modern society.” “It victimizes many of our gullible women, including minors. That state actors, i.e., immigration officers, as allegedly protected by a discredited former high-ranking executive official, are the very perpetrators of this vile crime, mirrors the degeneracy of the current dispensation,” de Lima said. “This yet another exposé of a major anomaly, another scandal, warrants an immediate and serious probe,” she said. “Will be filing soon an appropriate Senate inquiry into this matter,” the senator added. De Lima, who is currently detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center has been at loggerheads with Aguirre, an ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, since the latter headed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and pursued the filing of criminal charges against her for her alleged involvement in the drug trafficking trade inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). The lawmaker had earlier sought a Senate probe into Aguirre’s alleged involvement in the P50-million bribery scandal with Chinese gambling tycoon Jack Lam over the arrest of the latter’s employees who are Chinese nationals working in his casino. Authorities had arrested Lam’s 1,300 Chinese workers for illegally working in the country. Aguirre was also implicated in the issue. However, the Senate blue ribbon committee chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon cleared Aguirre, after holding a series of hearings on the issue, saying there was no proof he was involved in the bribery scandal even though the latter admitted having met with Lam in a private hotel room in Taguig City. According to Gordon, he sees nothing wrong with a top government official meeting with a businessman. Aguirre stepped down as DOJ chief in April 2018 after President Rodrigo Duterte accepted his resignation. His resignation came after the President was displeased with the DOJ’s dismissal of the complaint against suspected drug lords Peter Lim, Kerwin Espinosa and other high-profile drug personalities.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.