Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesperson Ruth Castelo confirmed on Wednesday that she had previously served as legal counsel for a co-accused in the high-profile plunder case involving former President Joseph Estrada—but clarified she has had no involvement with him since his release over a decade ago.

In a media briefing, Castelo disclosed that she represented Charlie "Atong" Ang in 2007, when he was implicated in the corruption case alongside Estrada.

"We went on probation, we succeeded in seeking for probation, and he was given a two-year period. So in 2009, I released him from the Bicutan where he stayed… He was released because he already complied with all the conditions set by the probation officer," Castelo recounted.

Castelo said that her representation of Ang formally ended upon his release from detention at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City in 2009.

"And as soon as he was released from Bicutan in 2009, that was the end of our lawyer-client relationship. [I] was never his lawyer again. We remain friends, yes, but his own activities, his endeavors and businesses, I have nothing to do with it anymore," she stressed.

Her statement comes amid heightened public scrutiny into figures linked to both the past administration’s controversial anti-drug campaign and the more recent string of unresolved cases related to e-sabong, or online cockfighting.