PNoy mum on rumored split with Shalani

REINA MERCEDES, Isabela — Are they still a couple or not? President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on Friday refused to comment on persistent rumors that he and Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad have called it quits, saying he wants to keep his privacy. "Yung private life ko akin na yun siguro (I'll keep [details of] my private life to myself)," Aquino answered when asked in an ambush interview whether he and Soledad are still an item. Rumors that the 50-year-old Aquino and the 30-year-old councilor have broken up have been going around the gossip mill for weeks now, but the two have remained mum on the issue. At a a press conference last month, Aquino said he has no time for his love life, in response to GMA News anchor Mel Tiangco's question. "Sa totoo lang ho, kung saka-sakaling magkaroon ako ng oras, wala naman hong privacy. Maski ano’ng puntahan natin, [sa] supermarket, [sa] restaurant, [sa] sinehan, marami hong nakikisama kung magkakadate (Truth is, even if I find the time, there'd be no privacy. Wherever we go, be it a supermarket, restaurant, or a cinema, many people would join our date)," he said. Aquino and Shalani became a couple in September 2008 but the two have rarely been seen together in public since Aquino assumed the presidency last June 30. They were recently together last August 1 at La Salle Greenhills, during the commemoration of the death anniversary of Aquino's mother, former President Corazon Aquino. — RSJ, GMANews.TV