Palace spox challenges Rep. Erice to verbal slugfest
She took issue with Erice’s claim that Marcos could not afford to have Romualdez jailed.
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She took issue with Erice’s claim that Marcos could not afford to have Romualdez jailed.
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Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro is raring to have a face-to-face showdown with Caloocan Representative Egay Erice — and she wants the media to watch it.
Castro said Thursday she wanted to confront Erice over his allegations against the administration and ask him directly where he was getting them.
This followed Erice’s television interview in which he said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call during his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) to file charges against his cousin, former House speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, was merely for show and would not lead to anything.
“I particularly want to talk to Congressman Erice face-to-face, with all of you there, and ask him directly: ‘Where are all these things you’re saying coming from?’ He should give me the evidence because it’s all just intrigue right now,” Castro said during a Palace briefing.
“It’s difficult to respond to nothing but intrigue. We in the media should not live on intrigue alone—intrigue and publicity,” she added.
Mere theories?
Castro said Erice’s statements were based on theories rather than facts. “You know, in government, we should not always live on theory. We should not always live on character assassination,” she said.
She took issue with Erice’s claim that Marcos could not afford to have Romualdez jailed. “Has he spoken directly with the President to know how the President feels about the people involved in the flood control mess?” Castro asked.
She said Erice should not speak as though he knew the President’s position if he had not spoken directly with Marcos.
“He has no right to be the President’s spokesperson unless he replaces me here,” Castro said.
She also challenged Erice over his allegation that some local government officials were involved in a “collect all” scheme involving garbage collection.
“So, if he knows about this, and he is a public servant and one of the vocal critics, has he taken any action regarding these alleged corrupt practices by local government units involving garbage collection?” she asked.
