Marcos’ personal feelings on Romualdez arrest no longer matter — Palace

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (left) and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez (right) (Mark Balmores / John Louie Abrina)

Whatever President Marcos feels about the arrest of his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, should no longer matter, Malacañang said.

In a Palace briefing, Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed that the President’s feelings about the arrest are something that should not be known. Instead, the focus must be on holding those involved in the flood control scandal accountable, she added.

The Palace spokesperson also pointed out that Marcos’ feelings are no longer as important as the need to ensure that justice is served.

“Ang pakiramdam po ng Pangulo, personal ay hindi naman po siguro ito dapat na alamin natin. Ang kailangan lang po dito ay dapat mapanagot, ang dapat na mapanagot. Hindi na po siguro makakaapekto kung anuman ang damdamin ng Pangulo, masaya, malungkot anuman, hindi na po siya importante (As for the President’s personal feelings, I don’t think that is something we need to know. What is important is that those who need to be held accountable are held accountable. Whatever the President may feel, whether he is happy, sad, or anything else, should no longer matter),” Castro said on Wednesday, Sept. 9.

“Ang importante po dito ay gumagawa ang ating hustiya at kung kailangan na siya ay masingil kung mayroon man dahilan at ito ay makikita sa korte. Hayaan na po natin ang korte na siyang humusga sa kasong ito (What is important is that justice is being served. If he needs to be held accountable, if there are grounds to do so, that will be determined in court. Let us allow the court to decide on this case),” Castro added.

‘No one is being thrown under the bus’

Despite Romualdez being a close ally of the President and being within his inner circle, Castro believes that no one was being thrown under the bus after authorities arrested Romualdez.

She stressed that they do not consider it to be someone being thrown under the bus, citing evidence from the Ombudsman that warrants the arrest.

Castro also emphasized that Marcos remains neutral on the cases stemming from the massive flood-control anomalies.

“Okay, hindi ko gusto iyong word na nilaglag. So, kung may mga kritikong nagsasabing nilaglag, hindi namin nais gamitin ang word na nilaglag. Dahil ito naman po according to the Office of the Ombudsman mayroon silang nakitang ebidensiya (Okay, I don’t like the word ‘thrown under the bus.’ So, if there are critics saying that someone was thrown under the bus, we don’t want to use that term. According to the Office of the Ombudsman, they have found evidence),” Castro said.

“So, walang dapat nilalaglag dito, kung ano lang iyong ebidensiya na nandidiyan, iyon lang—doon lang tayo bumase, dahil ang Pangulo po sa mga bagay na ganyan ay neutral, proseso, batas at walang dapat na gawa-gawang ebidensiya (So, no one is being thrown under the bus here. We are simply basing our position on the evidence that is available. The President is neutral when it comes to matters like this. It is about following due process and the law, and there should be no fabricated evidence),” she added.

‘Hindi naman siguro makakatakas’

While Castro understood that the manner in which the former speaker was arrested has come under fire, Malacañang believes the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) remain in charge of the situation, assuring that he cannot escape.

“Sa mga kritiko, hindi mawawala ang kritisismo pero hindi natin mapipigil ang mga doktor kung ano ang nakikita nilang health condition ng isang akusado (To the critics, criticism will always be there, but we cannot dictate what doctors see regarding an accused person’s health condition),” Castro said.

She added that the DILG leadership also cannot force an accused person to be taken out of the hospital immediately if doctors have certified that the person is not yet fit to be discharged or removed from the hospital.

“So, wala po tayo ng masasabi kung ano iyan, nandiyan po iyan sa pagtingin ng kanilang mga doktor at ang doktor naman ay dapat na nagsasabi ng katotohanan (So, there is really nothing more we can say about that. It is up to the doctors to assess the person’s condition, and doctors are expected to tell the truth),” Castro said.

She further stressed that they will simply “give the doctors the benefit of the doubt when they say that an accused person is in poor health.”

“But still, nakita naman po natin kung ano ang ginawa ng pamunuan ng DILG at PNP nandiyan pa rin po at kung nasa ospital naman po iyan hindi naman po siguro iyan makakatakas (But we have also seen what the DILG and PNP leadership have done. They are still there. And if the person is in the hospital, they presumably cannot escape),” Castro said. — Betheena Unite