Malacañang distances itself from Martin Romualdez aide issue

The Palace on Friday distanced itself from the controversy over former Speaker Martin Romualdez reportedly having staff attend to him while detained at the New Quezon City Jail.

Following reports that the former speaker escaped from prison, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) confirmed that he was still there — together with a staff member.

“Sa ngayon hindi po tayo ang makakapagbigay ng kongkretong kasagutan diyan dahil hindi po natin batid ang katotohanan kung iyan man ay mayroong special aide. Dapat sigurong malaman at ipagbigay-alam anong dahilan, bakit 24/7, at kung ito ay lumalabas na special treatment, ito dapat ay hindi maging kustombre o kaugalian na nato-tolerate sa ganitong klaseng mga kondisyon at sitwasyon,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing when asked about the controversy.

(For now, we will not give a concrete answer on that because we do not know the truth if there is a special aide. Perhaps the reasons should be ascertained, if it is 24/7 and if it turns out that there is special treatment, then it should not be customary that these conditions be tolerated.)

Castro said that there should be a deeper investigation into the matter. She said that it was best not to speculate on the matter as more details have yet to emerge.

“Although alam natin na mayroong naka-standby na medical assistance para sa mga nakakulong, hindi po natin batid kung ano talaga ang sitwasyon ni former speaker Martin Romualdez,” she said.

(Although we know that there is standby medical assistance for those jailed, we do not know the situation of former Speaker Martin Romualdez.)

Reports of Romualdez leaving his prison stemmed from columnist Ramon Tulfo, who claimed that he had a source. Tulfo has since retracted the statement, apologizing for his mistake.

Castro lauded Tulfo for stepping up and admitting his mistake.

“Kung nakuryente siya at inamin niya napaka-professional ng kaniyang gesture at sana sa lahat din ng mga nakukuryente at nagpi-fake news sa gobyerno at sa ibang mga liderato natin ay dapat umamin na sila ay mali; minsan kasi sila pa iyong matapang kapag pinupuna mo na mali,” Castro said.

(If he was fed wrong information and he admitted it, his gesture was very professional and hopefully everyone who was fed wrong information and spreading fake news about the government and other leaders should admit that they are wrong; sometimes, the people you admonish for being wrong would still act tough.) —LDF, GMA News