Palace mum on rumors of Noynoy-Shalani ‘breakup’

Malacañang kept its silence Saturday on reports that President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III and his girlfriend, Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad, have ended their relationship. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda declined to answer questions on the matter in an interview on government-run dzRB radio Saturday. “Hindi ko siya tinatanong (I don’t ask him about it), I purposely don’t ask. It’s not a matter of national importance," he said. “I have never met Ms. Shalani. I really don’t know their status and I don’t ask the president about it," he added. On Friday, Soledad visited Aquino at his house along Times Street in Quezon City, amid rumors that they had broken up. Speculations about the breakup started after Shalani failed to show up at the House of Representatives last July 26, when Aquino delivered his first State of the Nation Address.— LBG, GMANews.TV