MANILA, Philippines – Two men claiming to be sons from a previous marriage of Arlene Sinsuat de Castro, the wife of Vice President Noli de Castro, yesterday filed several complaints against her before the National Bureau of Investigation.
Jhoveenel Ombus Olor, 34, and his brother Arjurie Omar, 33, both of Calamba, Laguna, filed complaints for bigamy, perjury and falsification of documents against Arlene.
Vice President de Castro and his wife refused to comment on the cases, saying they would just let their lawyers respond to the charges.
THE Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, yesterday dismissed and terminated the election protest filed by Sen. Loren Legarda against Vice President Noli de Castro for failure to sufficiently prove her claim of fraud.
In a 20-page resolution penned by Senior Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, the tribunal dismissed for lack of legal and factual basis the first aspect of Legarda’s protest involving the correction of errors of the certificates of canvass and election returns.
Vice President Noli de Castro yesterday said that he has decided to decline President Gloria Macapagal Arroyos offer to name him secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Juliano Soliman will remain head of the department, he said in a statement. Read more
THOUGH many of his townmates in Pola, Oriental Mindoro, remember Sen. Manuel “Noli” de Castro with fondness and admiration, his critics scoff at him as nothing more than a bundle of discrepancies.
As the May 10 election draws nearer, allegations have been made more stridently in the media against the man the opinion surveys consistently say is most likely to win the vice-presidential race.
AS the political storm brought about by allegations of massive corruption continues to slam President Arroyo, Vice President Noli de Castro stays by her side to provide her the option of a graceful exit by resignation, an adviser to De Castro told a member of the opposition.
The source said the expectation of De Castro, as relayed by his advisers who have started talking with different opposition groups like the United Opposition, Makati Business Club, and the Black and White Movement, the end of the Arroyo presidency is a matter of time and he (De Castro) expects to take over as the Constitution mandates.
“De Castro expects the presidency to fall into his lap like manna from heaven,” the source said expressing the frustration of many in the opposition over De Castro’s refusal to take a position on the issues of corruption and obstruction of justice that stemmed from the exposé on the alleged overpriced $329-million national broadband network deal with the Chinese firm ZTE Corp.
The bigamy and other criminal charges filed against Vice President Noli de Castro and his wife, Arlene Sinsuat de Castro, were dismissed on Tuesday for lack of probable cause.
In a five-page resolution, Quezon City Assistant Prosecutor Fabinda de los Santos also dismissed the cases of falsification, perjury, threats, and obstruction of justice against the couple.
The cases were filed on the complaint of brothers Jhoveenel Ombus and Arjurie Omar Sinsuat Olor, Arlene’s sons from her previous marriage.
The brothers said their mother married De Castro on July 16, 1992, though her marriage with their father, Juanito Olor, had not been lawfully dissolved.
