Malacañang on Friday denied recycling old controversies to divert public attention to cover up the controversial issue involving First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos. 

In a press briefing, Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer, Atty. Claire Castro refuted remarks made by Senator Ronald Dela Rosa that the Palace often stirs up outdated issues to distract the public from more pressing concerns.

“Sa aking pagkakatanda, wala naman po tayong nairi-raise na mga old issues maliban lang kung ito ay related sa itinatanong sa atin (To my knowledge, we don’t raise old issues unless they’re directly related to questions being asked),” Castro said, hitting a previous Senate motu proprio public hearing on the alleged Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) leaks. 

“Sino po ba ang mahilig mag-raise ng old issues na sa ating pagkakatanda ay nagkaroon pa po ng hearing patungkol sa isang pre-operation ng PDEA na ang taon pa ay 2012? Parang wala naman po akong natatandaan na mayroon tayong niri-raise na ganoong mga klaseng issue (Who is really fond of bringing up old matters, as I remember there was a hearing about PDEA pre-operation from as far back as 2012? I don’t remember we raised such issue),” she added. 

Dela Rosa’s Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs previously investigated the unverified documents on the supposed anti-illegal drug operations by PDEA back in 2012. 

The alleged leaked PDEA document mentions President  Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as an illegal drug user.

Earlier this week, a police report supposedly from the Beverly Hills Police Department, which had been circulated online and linked to the First Lady. 

Castro clarified that it was not Malacañang that brought up the controversy involving the First Lady, noting that the administration was simply responding to a document that has now been confirmed as “altered.”

“Diversionary tactic? Okay, unang-una po, ang issue po patungkol sa peke na police report or altered na police report ay hindi naman po ang Malacañang ang nag-raise niyan/ng isyu niyan na kailangan lamang po nating sumagot (Let’s be clear, the issue of the fake or altered police report was not raised by the Palace, we just had to respond),” said Castro. 

“Para maipakita sa taumbayan na may mga fake news peddlers, mga obstructionists, mga propagandist na gumagawa ng kuwento na kinakailangan pang mameke ng papel para lang sirain ang Unang Ginang, ang Pangulo at ang administrasyon (To expose to the public those fake news peddlers, obstructionists, propagandists that creating stories by faking documents just to damage the reputation of the First Lady, the President, and this administration),” she added. 

Castro also pointed to a statement from the Beverly Hills Police Department confirming that the report shown online — and shared by columnist Rigoberto Tiglao — was not authentic.

“Sa makatuwid, kung ito po ay sinabi na po ng Beverly Hills Police Department na altered iyong ipakita at na-post ni Mr. Tiglao na police report, siya po ba ay sumasakay din sa issue ng fake police report? (In short, this altered Beverly Hills Police Department report was shown and reposted by Mr. Tiglao, is he riding on the issue of a fake police report?),”Castro asked.

She also recalled that the questionable content first emerged in statements linked to Vice President Sara Duterte, which led to speculation about the source of the so-called fake news.

Castro took a swipe at Dela Rosa for reportedly commenting on the matter despite previous issues he had engaged with, such as an AI-generated fake video.

“Bilang senador sana po ay maging mapanuri din po siya sa mga issues dahil never gagamitin, hinding-hindi gagamitin ng Malacañang ang issue na peke na dokumento (As a senator, he should exercise discernment. He was already burned before with that AI-generated video. Malacañang would never, ever use a fake document as part of any strategy),” she said.

Castro insisted there is no need for diversionary tactics, as the Palace is capable of addressing issues head-on.

“Bakit naman gagamitin itong diversionary tactic kung kaya naman pong sagutin ng Malacañang na ang ipinapalabas at ipinapakalat na police report ay peke (Why would we resort to a diversionary tactic when we can directly respond and prove that the circulating police report is fake?)” she said.