Valte: Twitter exchange with pro-Arroyo solon not war but ‘discussion’

It was not a word war or a catfight but a “discussion." On this note, a Malacañang official on Sunday tried to downplay the exchange she had with Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay, an ally of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, on Twitter Saturday. “Nagkaroon ng discussion, hindi away. Kinlaro namin hindi yan mala-showbiz na away. Public servants tayo, nagkaroon tayo ng palitan ng kuro-kuro, it was a discussion," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. (We had a discussion, not a fight, or at least not the showbiz kind of fight. We are both public servants and we had an exchange of opinion. It was a discussion.) Valte, however, did not mention presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda’s tweets Saturday afternoon, which attacked the Arroyo administration. Lacierda’s Twitter account contained at least two messages branding Arroyo’s administration as one with “corrupt leadership" and “midnight deals." “Her record vs. PNoy's. Her manner of governance vs ours. Corrupt vs Honest leadership. Midnight deals vs. Transparency," he said in one tweet. “‘Nobody home’? Of course! We definitely live in a different neighborhood," he said in another. In Sunday’s radio interview, Valte said her Twitter exchange with Magsaysay was more of a “point-for-point discussion." Magsaysay had echoed Arroyo’s claim that the Aquino administration was lacking in leadership and that it was not building on the gains of Arroyo’s administration. Valte countered that the Aquino administration has made several gains and earned upgrades from credit agencies. “We are all ladies, mature tayo, hindi tayo nag-ano sa catfight, hindi kami nagpalitan ng insulto (We are all ladies, we are mature. We don’t do catfights. We don’t exchange insults)," Valte said. — KBK, GMA News