24 August 2005
VP de Castro mum on San Mateo raid
VICE President Noli De Castro, on a whirlwind visit to Pangasinan Thursday, claimed complete innocence on the raid conducted by lawmen in a subdivision in San Mateo, Rizal where they seized 32 election returns (ERs) and other election paraphernalia last Wednesday.
The room raided by government agents was being rented by Segundo Tabayoyong, a former document analyst of the National Bureau of Investigation, whom former vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda claimed was her primary witness in her election protest filed against de Castro.
Tabayoyong is from Laoac and Manaoag, Pangasinan. He is a nephew of Laoac Mayor Gregorio Tabayoyong who had worked in the NBI since Marcos’ time.
“I don’t know that (raid). I only read that in the newspapers when I was on board a helicopter on my way to Pangasinan,” de Castro told newsmen who interviewed him in Dagupan.
Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) are under fire from opposition leaders for the raid that did not seem to have enough justification.
De Castro also said he was unaware that Tabayoyong is Legarda’s prime witness in her electoral protest against him, telling newsmen here to just ask Legarda for confirmation.”
He said he does not know anything about certificates of canvass (COCs) because as far as he is concerned, he left all these to his lawyers.
In his talk to newsmen after meeting for some 30 minutes with Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese, he said he is not at all bothered by his detractors because even as a former broadcaster, he had too many of these within the industry.
De Castro called on Archbishop Cruz at 2 p.m. last Thursday but he said they did not discuss anything controversial
De Castro explained this was just a normal call on the archbishop as a side trip since he was in the province anyway to distribute certificates of lot entitlement to housing beneficiaries in Bugallon and Lingayen.
Cruz, chairman of the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng” (Crusade for Jueteng-free Philippines), gained national fame when he spurred the Senate to conduct an investigation on jueteng.
De Castro admitted this was the first time since after the election that he had a talk with the archbishop, pointing out that before the polls, he was only among only two national candidate who signed a covenant supporting the crusade against jueteng.
Asked what they talked about in their more than 30-minute meeting, the vice president said they discussed religion, jueteng, exercise and little politics.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did not know of his visit to the archbishop, de Castro explained.
The room raided by government agents was being rented by Segundo Tabayoyong, a former document analyst of the National Bureau of Investigation, whom former vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda claimed was her primary witness in her election protest filed against de Castro.
Tabayoyong is from Laoac and Manaoag, Pangasinan. He is a nephew of Laoac Mayor Gregorio Tabayoyong who had worked in the NBI since Marcos’ time.
“I don’t know that (raid). I only read that in the newspapers when I was on board a helicopter on my way to Pangasinan,” de Castro told newsmen who interviewed him in Dagupan.
Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) are under fire from opposition leaders for the raid that did not seem to have enough justification.
De Castro also said he was unaware that Tabayoyong is Legarda’s prime witness in her electoral protest against him, telling newsmen here to just ask Legarda for confirmation.”
He said he does not know anything about certificates of canvass (COCs) because as far as he is concerned, he left all these to his lawyers.
In his talk to newsmen after meeting for some 30 minutes with Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese, he said he is not at all bothered by his detractors because even as a former broadcaster, he had too many of these within the industry.
De Castro called on Archbishop Cruz at 2 p.m. last Thursday but he said they did not discuss anything controversial
De Castro explained this was just a normal call on the archbishop as a side trip since he was in the province anyway to distribute certificates of lot entitlement to housing beneficiaries in Bugallon and Lingayen.
Cruz, chairman of the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng” (Crusade for Jueteng-free Philippines), gained national fame when he spurred the Senate to conduct an investigation on jueteng.
De Castro admitted this was the first time since after the election that he had a talk with the archbishop, pointing out that before the polls, he was only among only two national candidate who signed a covenant supporting the crusade against jueteng.
Asked what they talked about in their more than 30-minute meeting, the vice president said they discussed religion, jueteng, exercise and little politics.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did not know of his visit to the archbishop, de Castro explained.
