It may come as a surprise, but Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who has repeatedly thrown accusations against members and allies of the Liberal Party, admitted to having been a “yellow” almost all his life.

Aguirre himself revealed this on Wednesday, February 1, when he was questioned at his confirmation hearing for his seemingly “divisive” comments against the former ruling party.

In response, he said his use of the term “dilawan,” referring to the color of the party, was not meant to offend anyone. To prove his point, he said he was associated with the LP since he was a child, owing it to his late father, who served as party chairman in Quezon province for 40 years.

When his father died in 1987, Aguirre said he immediately took over the position. In his profile posted on the DOJ website, it was indicated that Aguirre “joined the campaign throughout Quezon Province for the Cory-Doy Ticket during the Snap Elections of 1986.”

Aguirre revealed before the CA that he had supported LP candidates since the first time he voted until 2015.

“I’ve always voted for Liberal Party candidates, from the time I became a voter until 2015,” he said.

His official profile also said, “During the last 2010 elections, he supported the entire Liberal Party ticket from President Noynoy Aquino down to the last councilor in Quezon Province.”

So what made him decide to leave the party? Family.

Aguirre is the cousin of former Special Action Forces director Getulio Napeñas, who was blamed by the Aquino administration for the botched Mamasapano operation that killed elite police forces and civilians.

“Lahat ng kasalanan ay ‘binigay or ‘tinapon niya kay General Napeñas, which I don’t believe is true. I believe that it was so unfair [that], I had to leave the Liberal Party,” he said.

Prior to his departure, Aguirre was chosen to be among the private prosecutors in the impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona in 2012.

In 2013, he was chosen by the LP political leaders of Bondoc Peninsula as interim chairman of the Liberal Party in the 3rd district of the province of Quezon.

Barely two years after leaving the LP, he is now seen and heard throwing insults and accusations against former party mates, including Senator Leila de Lima, fiercest critic of his friend President Rodrigo Duterte. – Rappler.com