Palace: No int'l embarrassment over Arroyo asylum row

Malacañang on Sunday dismissed as “noise" the claim by former President Gloria Arroyo’s camp that the Dominican Republic’s denial of Arroyo’s reported asylum bid there has brought shame to the Philippines. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte insisted the claim by Arroyo’s spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn was “part of noise generated by the Arroyo camp." “It is not true that there was international embarrassment. All this is part of the noise generated by the Arroyo camp to divert attention from the real issue," government-run radio dzRB quoted Valte as saying. Valte said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima was asked a question about the reported bid of Arroyo for asylum in the Dominican Republic and merely “replied matter-of-factly that the information was unverified." “She was merely doing her job," Valte said of De Lima's statement. Valte also said the latest development would not affect the “travel ban" on Arroyo as the Justice Department did not take the reported asylum bid into account. The Justice Department initially rejected Arroyo’s bid for an Allow Departure Order to seek medical treatment abroad. — LBG, GMA News