By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
“Para sa mga fake news peddlers, abangan ang susunod na kabanata.”
A Malacañang official uttered this statement not only to dismiss speculations of an upcoming Cabinet reshuffle, but also to challenge those who continue to malign the government.
During a Palace briefing on Monday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro addressed some talks about various issues that continue to hound the administration.
Castro began by acknowledging the gravity of claims made by Senator Panfilo Lacson about an alleged destabilization ploy to oust President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. from his seat, thus calling for investigating bodies to probe this worrying development.
She, however, gave a cold response when asked about the Palace’s stance on the complaint lodged by Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Attorney Manases Carpio, against officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and several lawmakers.
This, following a recent AMLC report that flagged P6.7 billion in questionable transactions that flowed in and out of the Duterte couple’s respective bank accounts.
“Hindi na po hawak ng Palasyo at ng Pangulo kung ano ang magiging desisyon ng korte. Ang mga korte po natin, mga judges natin, pati justices ay matatalino. So alam po nila kung ano ang dapat na gamiting batas at kung papaano ito madi-dismiss o magkakaroon ng progress.”
Malacañang’s mouthpiece went on to underscore the seriousness of the death threats fired by the Vice President against President Marcos Jr., First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“Seryoso na pong usapin ito lalo pa’t gagamitin ang assassin na ito para ma-liquidate, mawala ang Pangulo. Hindi lamang siya, nandiyan na rin po ang pagbabanta ni Mayor Baste Duterte. Seryoso po ito.”
Castro concluded by issuing an update on the progress of the report filed by the PCO against three vloggers for peddling fake news about the Chief Executive’s health, noting that the NBI has already issued a subpoena against Rigondola Ping, Crage Anderpal, and Iloy Bugris.
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