Palace: Lines ‘added’ in police report to link first lady to Tantoco death
Malacañang stressed on Tuesday that first lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos was not with Juan Paolo “Paowee” Tantoco on March 8 when the luxury retail executive died reportedly due to an accidental cocaine overdose in the United States.
In a briefing, Undersecretary Claire Castro, the Palace press officer, dismissed as “fake” the Beverly Hills police report being shared through social media purportedly saying Araneta-Marcos was among Tantoco’s companions at the time of his death.
She said lines had been “added” in the report that appeared online to connect the first lady to Tantoco’s death, which happened when she was also in Los Angeles to promote a Philippine film festival.
She also denied a report originating from a US publication that Tantoco was part of the first lady’s “entourage.”
Castro said Malacañang was studying the legal actions it could take against groups and individuals spreading “fake news.”
“It is disheartening because private individuals who are in mourning are being dragged into politics. Some obstructionists are using this issue to tarnish the reputation of the first lady, the President, and this administration. Their actions are shameful,” Castro told reporters.
“These are actions meant to discredit the first lady, the President, and this administration for personal interests,” Castro said.
Spox hits former spox
She was reacting to an alleged report from the Beverly Hills Police Department (BHPD) made public by a “former spokesperson,” apparently referring to former presidential spokesperson and newspaper columnist Rigoberto “Bobi” Tiglao.
The document purportedly provided details of Tantoco’s death and also listed the persons—including a “Lisa Araneta Marcos”—who were with him when the police arrived at The Beverly Hilton hotel room where he died.
Signed by police officer Donna Coursey, the records supervisor of the BHPD, it also listed “Dinah Arroyo Tantoco,” and “Alexa Miro” as Tantoco’s companions.
The report also said they were “summoned to BHPD for questioning.”
Four lines ‘just added’
Castro called it “isang malaking kasinungalingan” (a big lie).”
“That police report is a fake document,” she stressed.
Castro said that of the nine lines making up the report’s summary, the last four lines which mentioned the first lady and the others were “just added.”
The lines stating that the cause of death was “initially suspected to be drug overdose” were also edited, she said.
According to Castro, the first lady was provided security by the United States government, on top of her bodyguards from the Presidential Security Group, and she could not have been involved in Tantoco’s activities before his death.
The Palace spokesperson also clarified that Marcos-Araneta did not stay at The Beverly Hilton.
Hollywood news
Castro also denied reports saying Tantoco, an executive of the family-owned Rustan Group of Companies, was part of the official entourage of Marcos-Araneta to promote the Manila International Film Festival (MIFF) in Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, California, from March 5 to 8.
Tantoco’s death was first reported on March 8 by Hollywood LA News.
The website reported that Tantoco was in the United States “apparently as part of the entourage of Liza Araneta-Marcos, First Lady of the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, Castro neither confirmed nor denied the report of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner that said Tantoco died due to accidental cocaine overdose.
Castro said Marcos-Araneta “has no reason to be worried, because she knows the truth, and those records will speak for themselves. The ones who should be concerned are those trying to destroy (the Marcoses), because this administration will not be brought down by these fake news attacks.”
