Palace tells Bato: No diversionary tactics

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

In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro refuted remarks made by Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa that the Palace often stirs up outdated issues to distract the public from more pressing current concerns.

“To my knowledge, we don’t raise old issues unless they’re directly related to questions being asked,” said Castro, referencing a previous Senate hearing on the alleged Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) leaks.

“Who is really fond of bringing up old matters, as I remember there was a hearing about PDEA pre-operations from as far back as 2012? I don’t remember we raised such an issue,” she said.

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

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

Earlier this week, a police report supposedly from the Beverly Hills Police Department was 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 been confirmed to have been “altered.”

“Let’s be clear, the issue of the fake or altered police report was not raised by the Palace, we just had to respond,” she said.

“We have to expose to the public those fake news peddlers, obstructionists, propagandists that create stories by faking documents to damage the reputation of the First Lady, the President, and this administration,” she said.

Castro 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.

“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 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 De la Rosa for commenting on the matter despite previous issues he had been tagged in, such as an AI-generated fake video.

“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 was no need for diversionary tactics, as the Palace is capable of addressing issues head-on.

“Why would we resort to a diversionary tactic when we can directly respond and prove that the circulating police report is fake?” she said.