Teodoro: Passport issue part of smear drive
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. continues to have the full trust and confidence of President Marcos, a Palace official said following a news report that Teodoro is a dual citizen because he holds a Maltese passport.
Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a briefing on Tuesday that Mr. Marcos knows that Teodoro renounced his Maltese citizenship years ago.
“This is in the records of the Commission on Elections and the Commission on Appointments. They also know this information,” she added.
Teodoro, commenting for the first time on the news report, called it a “smear campaign” against him.
According to him, he was informed last week that someone would raise the issue against him, although he chose to ignore the warning.
“It makes me angry because it’s not true,” Teodoro said in a radio interview on dzRH, referring to the claim that he is a dual citizen as he holds a Maltese passport.
“This is not just fake news but a smear campaign,” he added, saying that he informed the Commission on Appointments about his renounced passport before his confirmation hearing as chief of the Department of National Defense (DND).
“Things like this are part and parcel of the job,” he said. He did not identify the source of the rumor, saying only that “they know that the pro-China would pick this up.”
A news report over the weekend revealed that Teodoro was issued a Maltese passport on Dec. 22, 2016, making him a dual citizen.
A DND statement on Monday confirmed the information but clarified that Teodoro surrendered and renounced his Maltese passport in 2021, before he filed his certificate of candidacy for senator for the 2022 elections.
“It (dual citizenship) is not allowed and so many got disqualified [over that]. So, I went through the process [of renouncing the passport] early, knowing it takes time,” he said.
Private citizen
Teodoro, who also served as defense chief under the Arroyo administration until 2009, said that he was already a private citizen when he and his family acquired Maltese citizenship through the nation’s investor program.
Citizens of Malta, which is part of the European Union (EU), can freely move about and reside in all EU member states.
“It’s hard to always renew your [EU] visa,” Teodoro said, adding that at the time, he was always going to Europe for work.
“I wanted to live normally, with honor, and so many companies put their trust in me,” he said of his corporate executive stint.
No regrets
Despite the controversy, Teodoro said he does not regret getting a Maltese passport.
“I have no regrets because this accusation is not about stealing from the country’s coffers,” he said.
“In my job now, I have no issues regarding corruption,” Teodoro added. “We are proud of what we have accomplished.”
At the same time, Teodoro expressed confidence that the issue about him did not cause any conflict within the military.
“You can’t hide any secrets here in Camp Aguinaldo,” he said of the Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters, where the DND main office is also located.
“Once the military becomes suspicious [of you], you will know it,” he said. “But I am not hiding anything from them.”
For his part, AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner urged military personnel to “focus on our job.”
“That is a personal matter that the SND (Secretary of National Defense) has to address and it was addressed,” Brawner told reporters in an interview.
Loyal to the flag
“So when it comes to allegiance, I can see personally that the SND is very loyal to our constitution, to our country, to our flag,” he said.
The 7,000-strong confederation of the AFP reserve personnel has also expressed their support for Teodoro.
In a statement on Monday, the Association of Reservists and Reservist Administrators of the Philippines called the allegations “a desperate attempt to discredit a highly qualified and patriotic public servant.”
“Let us not allow fake news to undermine the credibility of someone who has dedicated his life to public service and national defense,” the group said.
Teodoro first served as defense secretary from 2007 to 2009 during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He is the second youngest person to ever hold the position after Ramon Magsaysay, who assumed the position a day after he turned 43.
