Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro denied that the Palace had linked Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong to alleged irregularities in a tennis court project, stressing that President Marcos’ concern was over possible constitutional issues related to his position, not local projects.

Castro said this after Magalong described her earlier comment about the supposed anomaly in Baguio’s tennis court project as “insulting,” as it made him appear that he was involved in corruption.

In an interview with One News, the Palace official denied linking Magalong to corruption, explaining that the matter of the tennis court only came up because it was raised by a reporter.

“Categorically, wala po tayong binanggit tungkol sa kung ito man ay maanomalya o hindi (Categorically, we did not say anything about whether this was anomalous or not),” she said on Friday, Oct. 3.

Castro reiterated that the issue was about the constitutionality of Magalong’s role at the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI).

“Wala po tayong binanggit na siya'y sangkot sa anumang katiwalian (We did not mention that he was involved in any anomaly),” she said.

“Ang pinag-uusapan din po dito ay tungkol sa kanyang posisyon kung ito po ba ay nagkakaroon ng hindi pagsang-ayon sa Konstitusyon (What we are discussing here is about his position, if it is inconsistent with the Constitution),” she added.

Magalong was initially appointed as special adviser and investigator to the ICI, but resigned after it was announced that President Marcos had ordered his legal team to study whether his position was a conflict of interest.

Magalong earlier claimed that his involvement in the ICI may have “struck a nerve” with certain quarters, changing the Palace’s attitude toward him.

Castro challenged him to identify who he was referring to.

“Pangalanan niya po, maging matapang po siya sa pagpapangalan kung sino ba yung sinabi niyang he struck a nerve nino (He should name names. He should be brave enough to say whose nerves he struck),” she said.

She added that without clear evidence or names, Magalong’s remarks amounted to mere insinuation.

The Palace Press Officer also pushed back against Magalong’s suggestion that she was ordered by “someone” to issue remarks against him.

“Sinasabi niya na sa akin daw ay may nag-utos na mukhang iba, someone na may nag-utos sa akin to say that. Unang-una po, ang sabi niya, hindi niya alam. Kaya hangga’t wala po siyang sinasabi kung sino ito, mananatili po itong haka-haka at guniguni (He also said that someone had ordered me to say that. First of all, he admitted he didn’t know who. Until he names someone, this will remain mere speculation and imagination),” she said.

Castro stressed that her loyalty lies only with the Chief Executive.

“Kasi po tayo, wala po tayo ditong anumang boss kundi ang Pangulo, ang gobyernong ito (We have no other boss but the President and this government),” she said.

“Hindi po tayo pwedeng utusan para magsabi ng mali (We cannot be ordered to say anything false),” she added.