Own son damns ‘rogue’ journo

THINGS are turning from bad to worse for a provincial correspondent earlier expelled by the National Press Club (NPC) for gross violation of the Journalist Code of Ethics after his own son came out and issued a sworn statement accusing him of colluding with some political personalities in Quezon province that led to more than 5 months imprisonment of a municipal councilor on trumped-up charges of rape, kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

At a press conference last March 3, 2022, in Makati City, Jestin Aquino, one of the sons of Jaime Aquino, said he voluntarily came out to detail the atrocities committed by his father because his conscience has started to bother him, especially after learning that the parents of Lopez, Quezon municipal councilor, Arkie Manuel Ortiz-Yulde, both died last year after he was arrested and sent to prison in Pangasinan based on the trump up charges invented against Yulde by the elder Aquino.

In his sworn testimony dated February 28, 2022, Jestin bared his full knowledge of his father’s illegal and criminal activities over the years, being Jaime’s “personal driver, assistant” and “lay-out artist” in the local newspapers owned by Jaime that have been circulating mostly in Pangasinan province where they also lived.

Jestin’s testimony is now among the evidence used by Yulde and his counsel, Atty. Freddie Villamor, to file a case of serious illegal detention not only against Jaime, but also, against Quezon fourth district representative, Angelina Tan and her husband, Ronnel Tan, who is the regional district engineer for Region 1 of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The complaint averred the three entered into a “criminal consortium” whereby the Tans financed Jaime to come up with bogus charges against Yulde that led to his imprisonment for more than 5 months at the Balungao BJMP in Pangasinan.

Jestin added that his father made up the charges in exchange for P30 million and that he was present during the whole time that the Tans and his father were discussing on how to go about framing Yulde.

Jestin also confirmed that contrary to his father’s denial, Jamie is an intimate of the Tans for several years now.

Yulde earned the ire of the Tans after he filed a case against Engr. Tan before the Ombudsman over his lavish birthday party in 2019 where he was reported to have thrown away money to those present just for fun.

Yulde is also a known supporter of Quezon Gov. Danilo Suarez, the political nemesis of Congw. Tan in the province.

He was only released last February 9, 2022, after his lawyer, Villamor, managed to have the charges against him dismissed by proving that the accusations against him were false.

At a press conference after his release, Yulde, in tears, said his father, already weakened by COVID-19, suffered a heart attack after news of the cases against him became public knowledge in Lopez.

His mother, on the other hand, also died last September 2021, after he was arrested by the police for the rape and kidnapping cases filed against him by the group of Jaime in Rosales, Pangasinan.

Jestin said it was over this development that drove him to break his silence and bare all he knows about his father’s criminal activities.

Villamor said Jaime was given P30 million by the Tans not only to frame Yulde but to also include Suarez and his family in order to destroy their reputation in Quezon.

Last October 2021, while Yulde was already languishing in jail, Suarez was sued before the Ombudsman for ‘kidnapping’ in relation to Yulde’s rape case.

Prior to this, Jestin, in his affidavit, also bared that Suarez and his son, Rep. David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez, were also sued before the OMB by bogus complainants produced by his father last March 12, 2021.

Sec. Raul Lambino turn

The criminal activities of Jaime and his group finally get undone after they also tried to frame CEZA (Cagayan Economic Zone Authority) administrator and Northern Luzon presidential adviser, Secretary Raul Lambino, early this year.

Lambino and his wife, Mangaldan, Pangasinan mayor, Marilyn Lambino, also suddenly found themselves being accused of rape and child abuse and serious physical injuries, also before the OMB.

There followed a barrage of negative stories against the couple both in the local and national press.

To masked his machinations, Jaime then went to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) to file a complaint of harassment and grave threat against Lambino.

However, the investigation conducted by task force investigators, including by those from the Pangasinan Police Office, proved that not only Jaime’s charges against Lambino were fake but, he was the main orchestrator behind the character assassination against the secretary and his wife.

Lambino is also set to file separate cases against Jaime and his co-conspirators, including some members of the local press in Pangasinan for conspiring with Jaime to besmirch their reputation.

As a result of his criminal activities, Jaime managed to amass several properties, including a resort worth more than P20 million in Pangasinan.