CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga- The name Vitaliano Aguirre II rings a bell?
He will sit as the vice president and general counsel of the state-owned Clark Development Corp. (CDC) here come March 16.
But the ring echoes back to February 2012 when Aguirre dared cup his hands on his ears to avoid hearing the “shrill voice” of feisty Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago during the Senate impeachment trial of then Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona.
A very reliable source from the CDC told Punto that Aguirre accepted the post upon the prodding of his fellow San Beda College alumnus, CDC president and chief executive officer Arhtur Tugade who was appointed to the state firm only last December.
This, amid pending major changes for the first time in over a decade at the vice presidential posts in CDC which runs this freeport.
The source said that Tugade, who had sought courtesy resignations of CDC vice presidents when he assumed post, has accepted some of the resignations.
He quoted Tugade as confirming that affective this March 30, the resignations of executive vice president Phillip Panlilio and vice president for business development Ernesto Gorospe would be implemented.
Earlier, vice president for regulatory services Pip Galang already resigned.
The source also confirmed reports that Tugade would limit the number of vice presidents to only four, including Aguirre. The other vice presidents to be retained are Franco Madlangbayan for operations, Mariza Mandocdoc for regulatory services, and Noel Mananki for finance.
“There will also be plans to streamline the different departments. Some will be merged,” the source added.
Aguirre became famous after he cupped his hands on his ears as Santiago was berating lawyers of the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Corona in February last year.
He was one of the dozens private prosecutors who were tapped to help secure the conviction of Corona and was enlisted to help Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza for Article 1, one of the charges that the prosecution team dropped in the trial.
After figuring in the controversy with Santiago, Aguirre explained he covered his ears on purpose because he no longer wanted to hear the senator’s “shrill voice.” He was cited in contempt of the Senate but was later forgiven by Santiago after he apologized.
Aguirre came from a clan of politicians from Mulanay, Quezon. He had served as lawyer for Senator Panfilo Lacson, Davao Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and lead counsel of Hubert Webb in his murder-rape case.
He has also been deputy counsel for the Feliciano Commission’s fact-finding investigation on the Oakwood mutiny.
In the 2010 elections, Aguirre’s family fully backed Pres. Aquino and the entire slate of his Liberal Party.
Like Tugade, he also graduated cum laude from his law class in San Beda College. He is presently managing partner of Aguirre and Aguirre Law Firm and teaches law at the Arellano Law Foundation.
