MANILA, July 9 — The Department of National Defense (DND) on Sunday dismissed reports claiming that an arrested female member of the New People’s Army is a niece of Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
”Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is not related to arrested NPA amazon Adriel Dawn Aguilar Aquino, contrary to what was intimated in some news reports,” DND public affairs office chief Arsenio Andolong said in a statement.
Aquino was arrested following a clash between government troops and NPA rebels in Boliney, Abra last July 1.
Andolong added that Aquino is a “distant relative of the Secretary’s wife’” but stressed that this has nothing to do with her arrest.
”This notwithstanding, the Secretary emphasizes that the rule of law must be upheld at all times and equally applied to everyone regardless of who he or she may be,” Andolong said. (Priam F. Nepomuceno/PNA)
