First Lady Liza Marcos shrugged off accusations in flood control mess — Palace

First Lady Louise ''Liza'' Araneta-Marcos will not give attention to the letter of sentiment submitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, citing her supposed ties to former Special Envoy to China for Trade Maynard Ngu.

To recall, Ngu has been tagged in the anomalous flood control projects.

According to Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro, the First Lady will ignore the call of private citizen John Santander that she should be probed by the ICI, noting that his claims were mere hearsays.

''Ang unang-una, ang sabi po ng First Lady ay hindi po niya ito bibigyan ng anumang pansin dahil ito ay hearsay evidence. Alam po natin na ang First Lady ay abogado rin,'' Castro said in a briefing.

(First, the First Lady said that she won't give any attention to the claims because they were hearsay evidence. We know that the First Lady is also a lawyer.)

Castro, however, said the First Lady did not say anything about her relations with Ngu.

‘Letter of sentiment’

On Tuesday, Santander submitted a “letter of sentiment” to the ICI urging it to investigate the First Lady's ties to Ngu.

Santander, in his letter, expressed concerns that the ICI has not yet summoned Ngu in its investigation of anomalous flood control projects. He further claimed that the First Lady could have benefited from Ngu.

In response, Castro likened Santander to a nuisance candidate as she downplayed the latter's claims against the First Lady.

''Para siyang isang nuisance candidate, na parang binigyan ng pera para bumili ng suka at isinabay ang pagbibigay ng letter of sentiment para dalhin sa ICI. Kung inyong makakahalubilo muli ang isang John Santander, maaari po ba ninyong itanong sa kaniya kung alam ba niya ang mandato ng ICI,'' she said.

(He's like a nuisance candidate who was given money to buy vinegar and submit this letter of sentiment to the ICI. If you'll be able to talk to John Santander, can you ask him if he knows the mandate of the ICI?)

''Alam naman natin na ang mandato ng ICI ay mag-imbestiga ng mga maanomalyang flood control projects at mga infrastructure,'' Castro said.

(We know that the ICI's mandate is to investigate the anomalous flood control projects.)

Fishing expedition

Castro also questioned Santander's personal knowledge on the claims that he is making, noting that if these were only hearsay evidence, his statement should not be given any attention.

''Ito po ba ay isang fishing expedition lamang para siraan ang Unang Ginang?'' she said.

(Was this a mere fishing expedition to destroy the image of the First Lady?)

''So, ito po naman ay nasa kamay na ng ICI, ibinigay lamang po natin ang ating pahayag patungkol po dito dahil nabasa po natin ang letter of sentiment pati na po ang attachments – mismo ang mga attachments ay walang nag-uugnay at walang naipakitang anumang ebidensiya na magsasabing mayroong anomalyang flood control projects na pinasok ang Unang Ginang,'' she added.

(So, it's already in the hands of the ICI. We just gave our statement as regards this letter of sentiment, and even in the attachments, there's no indication or proof that the First Lady is involved in anomalous flood control projects.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News