Alvarez admits having girlfriend, claims he never hit De Lima over similar issue

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Thursday admitted on record that he was in a relationship with another woman apart from his second wife, even as he said he never criticized Senator Leila de Lima for having an affair with her former driver Ronnie Dayan.

Alvarez made the pronouncement amid criticisms that he lost his “moral high ground” on the issue, now that his relationship with another woman has been made public.

“Bakit, binabatikos ko ba ‘yung affair niya?” he told House reporters in a phone interview on Thursday afternoon.

“Ang binabatikos ko ‘yung involvement niya sa illegal drugs. Hindi naman ‘yung relasyon niya ‘yung binabatikos ko,” he added.

“Paano ko naman babatikusin ‘yung affair affair na ‘yan, eh halos— ‘Wag na tayong magplastikan. Halos lahat naman may affair.”

Nevertheless, Alvarez insisted that the questions on de Lima's personal life, save for a few which he conceded were "inappropriate," were necessary to establish De Lima’s “true character.”

“Kinakailangan ‘yun. Bakit? Here is a woman pretending to be clean, pretending to be a crime buster, a graft buster, a self proclaimed righteous individual. Kailangan nating ipakita sa taumbayan kung anong klaseng tao ito,” he said.

Alvarez said he and his second wife Emelita are separated. He said they have not spoken in a while, even though Emelita is the head of the Congressional Spouses Foundation Inc.

The Speaker, with Emelita's support, had wanted to move the foundation out of the House of Representatives' premises. It's office spaces would then be given to lawmakers.

The issue came to light amid Alvarez's rift with Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr., the subject of a graft complaint the Speaker filed recently. Alvarez has denied that the rift began after a quarrel between the two representatives' girlfriends.

In a statement, Floirendo's partner Cathy Binag identified the Speaker’s girlfriend as Jennifer Maliwanag Vicencio, with whom she had an “altercation” at the Masskara Festival in Bacolod City “late last year.” 

Last November, Alvarez said Dayan and his wife were the “aggrieved” parties in the controversy surrounding the former driver’s affair with his boss, De Lima.

Back then, Alvarez defended how some lawmakers asked Dayan about his affair with De Lima during a House inquiry on the proliferation of drugs inside the New Bilibid Prison. 

“'Yung mga dumedepensa kay Senator De Lima dahil daw 'yung parang hinarass siya, 'yung pagkakababae, ito ang tanong ko sa kanila: Bakit hindi nila kinonsider 'yung asawa ni Ronnie Dayan? Babae 'yun. Sa tingin ko siya ang agrabyado dito!” Alvarez said at the time.

He also said De Lima was liable for sexual harassment for “using” Dayan in acquiring drug money. —JST, GMA News