DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr yesterday said the “fake news” about his being a Maltese citizen is part of a smear campaign aimed at forcing him out of the Department of National Defense.
Teodoro said he expects the smear campaign to continue, adding however, that at the end of the day, it is President Ferdinand Marcos Jr who will decide on his fate.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Teodoro “still enjoys the trust and confidence of the President.”
Castro also said the President was aware Teodoro had a Maltese a passport, and this was part of his records when he ran for public office and when his appointment went through the Commission on Appointments.
Teodoro, in an interview with radio dzRH, Teodoro said he secured a Maltese passport in 2016, while he was a private citizen, because he was then frequenting Europe for business opportunities.
Teodoro said he surrendered the Maltese passport in 2021 prior to filing his certificate of candidacy for senator. Teodoro lost in the 2022 elections and was named defense secretary in June 2023.
A broadsheet earlier reported that Teodoro has a Maltese passport, which is valid for 10 years, making him a dual citizen of the Philippines and of the European country.
Philippine laws prohibit Filipinos with dual citizenship, specifically those who acquired foreign citizenship through naturalization, from holding government posts. Excluded are those acquired the foreign citizenship by birth, derivative naturalization, or adoption.
The report said Teodoro may have acquired the passport through Malta’s citizenship-by-investment program. It raised security concerns over Teodoro’s heading the defense department because of his dual citizenship.
“This is not only a fake news but also a smear campaign,” Teodoro said as he expressed dismay that the paper did not get his side before publishing the story which came out on Sunday.
“It (paper) did not get my side. The erroneous article was published by the paper which, based on public perception, is pro-China leaning,” he said.
He did not say if it has something to do with his stance of ensuring the integrity of the Philippine territory. Teodoro is critical of China’s expansive claims in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea. The Chinese have harassed Philippine government vessels, aircraft and even fishing boats to assert the claim.
“I’m sure this was planned thoroughly because it was planted to a paper which is a known critic of our policy against China,” he said.
Teodoro noted the recent release of white papers, one accusing him of “disregarding” recommendations of the AFP Board of Generals, promoting “unqualified protegees,” and “stalling” the AFP modernization program.
“I believe this is not going to stop,” he said of the smear campaign.
On whether the campaign’s ultimate goal is his removal as defense secretary, he said, “I think that is the case because I’ve heard of this long ago.”
At the end of the day, Teodoro said, “I serve at the pleasure of the President.”
Teodoro said it is “good” if the president thinks he is doing his job properly at the defense department.
“If he thinks I am a liability … a courtesy resignation is not necessary because all of us serve at the pleasure of the president,” he said.
Teodoro said he does not regret getting the Maltese passport, stressing that it was purely business-related.
He also noted that this is not an issue of stealing public money.
“There is no issue of corruption against me,” said Teodoro, adding he is “very proud” of what he has so far accomplished at the defense department.
The DND on Monday questioned the timing of the report. “The motive of this rumor is clear and known to Secretary Teodoro. The timing of the article adds to this motive,” it said.
It also said Teodoro has given up the Maltese passport, and this was prior to the filing of his certificate of candidacy in 2021 for the 2022 elections.”
It added the existence of the foreign passport “was disclosed to the Bureau of Immigration and Comelec (Commission on Elections) prior to the 2022 elections, as well as to the Committee on Appointments prior to their confirmation of his appointment as Defense Secretary.”
Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr urged soldiers to focus on their job.
“The issue was already answered by our secretary of national defense. He already renounced the passport in 2021 … So let us leave behind the issue since this was already addressed by our secretary of national defense,” he said.
Brawner said his message to the soldiers is to “focus on our job because our country is confronting a lot of problems.”
“What is important is that his (Teodoro) allegiance and patriotism to our country is very strong. So let us not worry about that issue,” he said.
|When it comes to allegiance, I have personally witnessed that the SND is very loyal to our Constitution, to our country, to our flag,” he added. – With Jocelyn Reyes
