Post by E-Q on Sept 8, 2009 9:33:11 GMT 8
By Reinir Padua and Marichu Villanueva (The Philippine Star) Updated September 08, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Deputy National Security Adviser Luis “Chavit” Singson yesterday said he will not resign or take a leave of absence from his post despite Malacañang’s urging him to do so amid the controversy surrounding his rift with his live-in partner.
“(They could) remove me from my post if they want to. It’s okay with me,” Singson told The STAR over the phone from abroad yesterday afternoon.
According to Singson, he has not talked with President Arroyo regarding the matter since the controversy broke out about the case filed against him by estranged partner Rachel “Che” Tiongson.
“But I won’t resign. I won’t take a leave of absence. I am innocent. I’m the victim here,” the former Ilocos Sur governor said.
Singson maintained that he never used his current position as deputy NSA when he had Tiongson monitored over suspicion that she was cheating on him.
“I never used this office. In fact, I often spend my own money for that office,” Singson said in Filipino.
Singson also claimed he was the one who “saved” Tiongson and her alleged boyfriend from his men, who would have killed the two lovers.
Behaved
“I’m very well behaved!” Singson declared yesterday in response to an earlier Palace admonition for him to behave after he admitted last week that he had beaten up Tiongson.
Singson reiterated that he was ready to face the charges filed against him by Tiongson for the beating that she and her boyfriend experienced.
Tiongson had filed charges against him before a Quezon City family court.
Interviewed yesterday over radio dzBB, Singson sang a different tune, claiming he had in fact intervened to prevent his men from beating to death his estranged wife and her reported lover last Aug. 22 in an apartment in Quezon City.
“Behave nga ako eh. Kung hindi ako behave, patay na yan (Not at all. If I wasn’t behaved, they’d be dead),” Singson quipped.
In a new version of the incident, Singson said he was the one who stopped his men from killing Tiongson and her boyfriend, Richard Catral, after they caught the two together inside the apartment that he rented for his estranged wife. Singson did not identify his men except to say that they were the ones who did the surveillance of Tiongson and Catral.
Singson explained he only wanted to confront the two when his men caught them together at the apartment.
“Kaso lang nang umakyat na ako, nabugbog sila. Ako nga ang nagligtas dahil papatayin na nga sila. Huwag n’yong galawin kako dahil tayo nag-iisip naman, hindi naman tayo masamang tao (But when I got there, they were already beaten up. I was the one who saved them because they would have been killed. I told my men not to touch them, we are not bad people),” Singson recounted.
But when pressed on who would kill the two, Singson replied, “Yung mga sumubaybay sa kanila. Akala nila utos ko na. Hindi kako, gusto ko lang malaman, para ma-confront ko lang, huwag n’yo galawin (Those who were tailing them. They thought I ordered it. But I told them I only want to know, to confront them, but don’t touch them).”
“Ako lang ang umawat. Masuwerte sila. Kung wala ako dun, patay na ang mga iyan. Kung tutuusin mo, niligtas ko lang sila. Kung masama akong tao, pinatay ko na yung lalaki (I stopped them, they’re lucky. If I weren’t there, they’d be dead. In truth, I saved them. If I were a bad person, I’d have killed the man),” he insisted.
Afterwards, he said, he even allowed the man to walk away and told him to call the police and file a complaint “para makita itong mga ginagawa nilang kabastusan (so these awful things they’re doing will be exposed),” he fumed.
“Ayaw ko naman ng ganung krimen. Marami namang babae dyan (I don’t commit such crimes; there are so many other women),” he said.
He denied having “whipped” Tiongson, saying she is a liar. “Yung pambubugbog ng babae, masama yan (Beating up women is bad). So I hope those who are supporting her are just confused.”
“She is not a battered wife,” Singson swore.
Singson said he has many other evidence against Tiongson but is withholding them for the sake of their children. But he would present these evidence before the courts.
“Kung tutuusin mo, ako ang biktima dito na pinapasama lang, sinasakyan ng mga abugado gustong kumita ng pera or may mga politicians dyan na gustong pumapel at yun iba hindi nila naiintindihan ang nangyayari (I’m the victim here who’s being made to be the villain by lawyers out to make a buck or politicians playing to the public, and others who don’t know what’s happening),” he lamented.
Singson pointed out this was not the first time he caught his wife being unfaithful. Previous to Catral, he confirmed that Tiongson had an affair with actor Cogee Domingo. But since they have children, he said, he only sent Tiongson out of their home.
“Hindi ko sila ginalaw (I didn’t touch her). So that would prove to everybody I don’t maltreat women,” Singson underscored.
Singson admitted he has other “girlfriends” before and even while living in with Tiongson. He disclosed he gave his women their own homes and businesses that gave them livelihood after separating from him. Had Tiongson done the same in their relationship, Singson said it would not have reached this situation.
“May pagka-tanga din ang babaeng ito. Di n’ya alam na s’ya ang tatamaan at ang anak n’ya (She’s stupid. She doesn’t realize she’s the one who’ll get hurt, she and her daughter),” Singson rued.
Singson said he felt sorry for their 12-year-old daughter who saw her mother on TV saying she was a battered woman. He quoted his daughter as saying: “My mom is a liar.”
That’s why, Singson said, Tiongson filed a custody case in court so that she could get money from him as support for their children who want to stay with him. This was vehemently denied by Tiongson yesterday.
“It’s not true that I was still running after her. She is the one who wants to come back to me as can be gleaned from the letters that she still sent me after we’ve already separated,” Singson said in Filipino.
“She does not need a lawyer. What she needs is a psychiatrist,” Singson said about Tiongson.
Singson recalled that Tiongson even sent him a text message a few days after the incident telling him she was going away. He reportedly replied, “Goodbye and good luck.”
But two days later, he said, Tiongson filed a case against him before the court.
In a separate interview over the same radio station after Singson aired his side, Tiongson revealed that Singson even had sex with her in her apartment a day before the incident.
Tiongson confirmed that Catral is already her boyfriend for the past three months since she completely parted ways with Singson.
“But he (Singson) has no right to do this (beating),” Tiongson said.
“He (Singson) planned it all along. For two months, he himself has been tailing us,” Tiongson pointed out.
In that particular incident, she clarified, Singson came to her apartment just five minutes after she and Catral arrived and were having dinner, not in any indecent manner being insinuated by Singson.
Tiongson confirmed she wrote many letters to Singson and used their usual loving phrases and words because they remained friends even after their separation.
“The issue here is his (Singson) beating of me,” Tiongson stressed.
She believes Singson simply would not let her go and treats her like a “prized property” that no one else could have. She had waited for Singson to marry her as he promised, but in vain.
Tiongson said she left Singson’s mansion in Corinthian Gardens in Quezon City last November.
Speaking in Filipino, Tiongson recounted how she strived to keep their family together but Singson went back to his old ways of womanizing, gambling, boozing and going out with friends.
Because of this, Tiongson said her relationship with Singson had been troubled for the past two years. Worse, she deplored, Singson’s other women even quarrel with her.
“I really loved him. He even presented me in public as his wife. But enough is enough,” she said.
Tiongson clarified it was her decision to finally end her relationship with Singson. She claimed it was not the first time she left their house, also for the same reasons. But this time, she brought a bag of clothes and stayed at the house of their common friend.
She said Singson even told their mutual friends their relationship is “history” already. In fact, she added, Singson impressed upon her he would love to see her in the hands of a “good man” now that they are no longer together.
When she left Singson, Tiongson said, she had no means to support herself except pawning jewelry she brought with her.
This was why, Tiongson explained, she wrote those letters to Singson who gave her “reimbursements” for the expenses she listed in those letters.
But one of their common friends whom she did not identify tried to patch things up between them since they had been together for 17 years.
It was at this point, she recalled, that Singson offered to rent an apartment for her so that she could stay near their house and visit their children.
After that beating incident, Tiongson said, she has not seen or talked with her boyfriend. She said Catral had confessed to her while still wooing her that he had sired children with another woman whom he did not marry.
“Hindi naman ako nagmamalinis dito. Sinasabi ko naman dito ang aking pagkakamali (I’m not trying to be blameless. I admit my mistakes),” she pointed out. She admitted her failure in not telling Singson that she wanted to have a boyfriend now that their relationship was over.
In the meantime, Tiongson said, she is waiting for the court hearing today on her pesampayanon for temporary protection order as she expressed fear for her life and her relations with other men in the future.
“I’m not losing hope that these things will be straightened out. After all, he’s still the father of our five children,” Tiongson said.
“I’m going to the US to have a new environment and start a new life. I have relatives there,” Tiongson tearfully announced.
However, Tiongson said, she would not back out from the custody battle over their five children that Singson has vowed to fight.
“This is a family case and our children are the ones suffering. We’re both still hurting. We will wait until things calm down. My advice to both of us, let us wait for the court to decide and respect the outcome and not to talk in public about our private life,” Tiongson pointed out.
Tiongson clarified that she would not stop her children if they would opt to stay with Singson but would only request that she be allowed to visit them.
“My message to him because he (Singson) was saying that he still has a lot to show to the public about me, I must remind him, I’m still the mother of our children…I don’t think he will not be hurt by all of these things; how much more our children?” she pleaded.
TV reports last night showed Tiongson’s apartment in Quezon City had apparently been emptied of appliances and furniture.
Female Cabinet members gang up on Chavit, say he must go on leave
Female Cabinet officials ganged up yesterday on Deputy National Security Adviser Luis “Chavit” Singson and told him to take a leave of absence out of delicadeza pending criminal investigation into his alleged maltreatment of his common-law wife.
Women’s rights advocates and the militant women’s group Gabriela, meanwhile, urged Malacañang to relieve the controversial former Ilocos Sur governor, and even accused the President of protecting Singson for her failure to impose sanctions.
But President Arroyo has already ordered National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, who is Singson’s immediate superior, “to look into the matter and make the appropriate recommendations,” according to Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo.
“Justice will also be served following his (Singson) involvement in an alleged domestic dispute,” Fajardo said.
“The President as a woman as well as the head of our government is alarmed and seriously concerned by such charges against a person, who is regarded as part of her circle, though not part of her official family,” she said.
However, Fajardo emphasized that the President could not slap preventive suspension on Singson as there is no administrative complaint filed against him and that the incident was “a personal and domestic problem.”
Singson, who is accused of beating up his common-law wife Rachel “Che” Tiongson after she was allegedly caught with a lover, was reportedly in China. It was not clear whether his trip there was official or personal.
It’s a woman thing
Fajardo said Mrs. Arroyo “feels very strongly about this as a woman” but recognized that there must be due process and the rule of law must be upheld.
She said Singson should also “spare the President and the Palace” from the issue.
“Personally, I know out of delicadeza, Gov. Chavit doesn’t need the President telling him to file leave of absence. Maybe he can do that himself. He can volunteer to file a leave of absence, if he feels that he needs to settle also his personal problem first,” she said.
“I feel very strongly about this. I’m mad and angry but our emotions should not. We are all professional as well and this is a personal matter between the governor and his family, any violence or crime should not be tolerated at all, he has to be subjected to the rule of law,” she said, adding that “women should be loved, respected and cared for.”
She said she would not know what to say to Singson if she bumps into him in the Palace.
Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, who has been crusading for the protection and welfare of women and children, said she felt offended by Singson’s alleged violence against Tiongson.
“There must be justice. He should not wait (for orders), he must do something out of delicadeza,” Cabral told The STAR in a telephone interview.
She said she felt Tiongson has a case against Singson based on news reports.
Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro did not mince words and described Singson’s actions as “horrible.”
She, however, stressed that all she knows about the case is what she read in the newspapers.
“I don’t want to see that happen to anyone. We see women as more fragile and not being able to defend themselves,” Alabastro said.
She said even with the apparent “mitigating circumstances,” Singson would find it hard to justify his alleged maltreatment.
“If I were the one accused, and even if I did nothing wrong, I would take a leave so that I would not be accused of influencing the investigation,” Alabastro said.
Gonzales said he was to meet with Singson over dinner last night shortly after the latter’s arrival from China.
“I will talk to him and listen to him,” Gonzales told The STAR.
He said despite being on the job as national security chief for quite sometime, he found the task to investigate Singson difficult “This is only because this is private and personal and family matter,” he said.
Gabriela: ‘Throw him the books’
But women’s rights advocates are testy on the matter.
Clara Rita Padilla, executive director of the group EnGenderRights, assured they would give Tiongson full support on the case she filed in the court.
“Chavit has no right to physically abuse her. There is no excuse for violence against women,” Padilla said.
“In fact, Chavit should be relieved by the government from his post as deputy national security adviser to set an example that no one should commit violence versus women,” Padilla added.
Gabriela party-list Rep. Liza Maza said the excuse given by Malacañang that it cannot interfere in Singson’s case is proof that it is condoning the act, which was in clear violation of the Anti-Violence Against Women And Children Act (RA 9262).
Apart from violence against women, the former Ilocos Sur governor is also liable under the newly-passed Magna Carta of Women, which President Arroyo herself signed into law.
Under the law, Maza said the government is mandated to “fulfill these duties through law, policy, regulatory instruments, administrative guidelines and other appropriate measure including temporary special measures.”
“Malacañang is feigning ignorance of the law that any form of violence against women in a sexual relationship is a public crime under RA 9262,” she said.
“It is clear in the Magna Carta of Women Chapter 3 Section 5, that the state as the primary duty-bearer shall protect women against discrimination and from violation of their rights,” Maza said.
“Under a macho society, women are treated as objects and possessions of men, that is why a law such as Anti-VAWC is in place to protect women from violence and abuse that emanates from this view,” she added.
Records from PNP Women’s Desk data showed that domestic violence ranks the highest among all cases of violence against women. In 2007, it showed that a woman is battered every one hour and 50 minutes.
Maza is one of the co-authors of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.
She had extended her support to Tiongson and acknowledged her courage in asserting her rights.
Tiongson has asked the Quezon City regional trial court to issue a temporary protection order to prevent Singson from going near her within a distance of one kilometer.
Her pesampayanon was reportedly granted. – Paolo Romero, Perseus Echeminada, Delon Porcalla, Helen Flores
MANILA, Philippines - Deputy National Security Adviser Luis “Chavit” Singson yesterday said he will not resign or take a leave of absence from his post despite Malacañang’s urging him to do so amid the controversy surrounding his rift with his live-in partner.
“(They could) remove me from my post if they want to. It’s okay with me,” Singson told The STAR over the phone from abroad yesterday afternoon.
According to Singson, he has not talked with President Arroyo regarding the matter since the controversy broke out about the case filed against him by estranged partner Rachel “Che” Tiongson.
“But I won’t resign. I won’t take a leave of absence. I am innocent. I’m the victim here,” the former Ilocos Sur governor said.
Singson maintained that he never used his current position as deputy NSA when he had Tiongson monitored over suspicion that she was cheating on him.
“I never used this office. In fact, I often spend my own money for that office,” Singson said in Filipino.
Singson also claimed he was the one who “saved” Tiongson and her alleged boyfriend from his men, who would have killed the two lovers.
Behaved
“I’m very well behaved!” Singson declared yesterday in response to an earlier Palace admonition for him to behave after he admitted last week that he had beaten up Tiongson.
Singson reiterated that he was ready to face the charges filed against him by Tiongson for the beating that she and her boyfriend experienced.
Tiongson had filed charges against him before a Quezon City family court.
Interviewed yesterday over radio dzBB, Singson sang a different tune, claiming he had in fact intervened to prevent his men from beating to death his estranged wife and her reported lover last Aug. 22 in an apartment in Quezon City.
“Behave nga ako eh. Kung hindi ako behave, patay na yan (Not at all. If I wasn’t behaved, they’d be dead),” Singson quipped.
In a new version of the incident, Singson said he was the one who stopped his men from killing Tiongson and her boyfriend, Richard Catral, after they caught the two together inside the apartment that he rented for his estranged wife. Singson did not identify his men except to say that they were the ones who did the surveillance of Tiongson and Catral.
Singson explained he only wanted to confront the two when his men caught them together at the apartment.
“Kaso lang nang umakyat na ako, nabugbog sila. Ako nga ang nagligtas dahil papatayin na nga sila. Huwag n’yong galawin kako dahil tayo nag-iisip naman, hindi naman tayo masamang tao (But when I got there, they were already beaten up. I was the one who saved them because they would have been killed. I told my men not to touch them, we are not bad people),” Singson recounted.
But when pressed on who would kill the two, Singson replied, “Yung mga sumubaybay sa kanila. Akala nila utos ko na. Hindi kako, gusto ko lang malaman, para ma-confront ko lang, huwag n’yo galawin (Those who were tailing them. They thought I ordered it. But I told them I only want to know, to confront them, but don’t touch them).”
“Ako lang ang umawat. Masuwerte sila. Kung wala ako dun, patay na ang mga iyan. Kung tutuusin mo, niligtas ko lang sila. Kung masama akong tao, pinatay ko na yung lalaki (I stopped them, they’re lucky. If I weren’t there, they’d be dead. In truth, I saved them. If I were a bad person, I’d have killed the man),” he insisted.
Afterwards, he said, he even allowed the man to walk away and told him to call the police and file a complaint “para makita itong mga ginagawa nilang kabastusan (so these awful things they’re doing will be exposed),” he fumed.
“Ayaw ko naman ng ganung krimen. Marami namang babae dyan (I don’t commit such crimes; there are so many other women),” he said.
He denied having “whipped” Tiongson, saying she is a liar. “Yung pambubugbog ng babae, masama yan (Beating up women is bad). So I hope those who are supporting her are just confused.”
“She is not a battered wife,” Singson swore.
Singson said he has many other evidence against Tiongson but is withholding them for the sake of their children. But he would present these evidence before the courts.
“Kung tutuusin mo, ako ang biktima dito na pinapasama lang, sinasakyan ng mga abugado gustong kumita ng pera or may mga politicians dyan na gustong pumapel at yun iba hindi nila naiintindihan ang nangyayari (I’m the victim here who’s being made to be the villain by lawyers out to make a buck or politicians playing to the public, and others who don’t know what’s happening),” he lamented.
Singson pointed out this was not the first time he caught his wife being unfaithful. Previous to Catral, he confirmed that Tiongson had an affair with actor Cogee Domingo. But since they have children, he said, he only sent Tiongson out of their home.
“Hindi ko sila ginalaw (I didn’t touch her). So that would prove to everybody I don’t maltreat women,” Singson underscored.
Singson admitted he has other “girlfriends” before and even while living in with Tiongson. He disclosed he gave his women their own homes and businesses that gave them livelihood after separating from him. Had Tiongson done the same in their relationship, Singson said it would not have reached this situation.
“May pagka-tanga din ang babaeng ito. Di n’ya alam na s’ya ang tatamaan at ang anak n’ya (She’s stupid. She doesn’t realize she’s the one who’ll get hurt, she and her daughter),” Singson rued.
Singson said he felt sorry for their 12-year-old daughter who saw her mother on TV saying she was a battered woman. He quoted his daughter as saying: “My mom is a liar.”
That’s why, Singson said, Tiongson filed a custody case in court so that she could get money from him as support for their children who want to stay with him. This was vehemently denied by Tiongson yesterday.
“It’s not true that I was still running after her. She is the one who wants to come back to me as can be gleaned from the letters that she still sent me after we’ve already separated,” Singson said in Filipino.
“She does not need a lawyer. What she needs is a psychiatrist,” Singson said about Tiongson.
Singson recalled that Tiongson even sent him a text message a few days after the incident telling him she was going away. He reportedly replied, “Goodbye and good luck.”
But two days later, he said, Tiongson filed a case against him before the court.
In a separate interview over the same radio station after Singson aired his side, Tiongson revealed that Singson even had sex with her in her apartment a day before the incident.
Tiongson confirmed that Catral is already her boyfriend for the past three months since she completely parted ways with Singson.
“But he (Singson) has no right to do this (beating),” Tiongson said.
“He (Singson) planned it all along. For two months, he himself has been tailing us,” Tiongson pointed out.
In that particular incident, she clarified, Singson came to her apartment just five minutes after she and Catral arrived and were having dinner, not in any indecent manner being insinuated by Singson.
Tiongson confirmed she wrote many letters to Singson and used their usual loving phrases and words because they remained friends even after their separation.
“The issue here is his (Singson) beating of me,” Tiongson stressed.
She believes Singson simply would not let her go and treats her like a “prized property” that no one else could have. She had waited for Singson to marry her as he promised, but in vain.
Tiongson said she left Singson’s mansion in Corinthian Gardens in Quezon City last November.
Speaking in Filipino, Tiongson recounted how she strived to keep their family together but Singson went back to his old ways of womanizing, gambling, boozing and going out with friends.
Because of this, Tiongson said her relationship with Singson had been troubled for the past two years. Worse, she deplored, Singson’s other women even quarrel with her.
“I really loved him. He even presented me in public as his wife. But enough is enough,” she said.
Tiongson clarified it was her decision to finally end her relationship with Singson. She claimed it was not the first time she left their house, also for the same reasons. But this time, she brought a bag of clothes and stayed at the house of their common friend.
She said Singson even told their mutual friends their relationship is “history” already. In fact, she added, Singson impressed upon her he would love to see her in the hands of a “good man” now that they are no longer together.
When she left Singson, Tiongson said, she had no means to support herself except pawning jewelry she brought with her.
This was why, Tiongson explained, she wrote those letters to Singson who gave her “reimbursements” for the expenses she listed in those letters.
But one of their common friends whom she did not identify tried to patch things up between them since they had been together for 17 years.
It was at this point, she recalled, that Singson offered to rent an apartment for her so that she could stay near their house and visit their children.
After that beating incident, Tiongson said, she has not seen or talked with her boyfriend. She said Catral had confessed to her while still wooing her that he had sired children with another woman whom he did not marry.
“Hindi naman ako nagmamalinis dito. Sinasabi ko naman dito ang aking pagkakamali (I’m not trying to be blameless. I admit my mistakes),” she pointed out. She admitted her failure in not telling Singson that she wanted to have a boyfriend now that their relationship was over.
In the meantime, Tiongson said, she is waiting for the court hearing today on her pesampayanon for temporary protection order as she expressed fear for her life and her relations with other men in the future.
“I’m not losing hope that these things will be straightened out. After all, he’s still the father of our five children,” Tiongson said.
“I’m going to the US to have a new environment and start a new life. I have relatives there,” Tiongson tearfully announced.
However, Tiongson said, she would not back out from the custody battle over their five children that Singson has vowed to fight.
“This is a family case and our children are the ones suffering. We’re both still hurting. We will wait until things calm down. My advice to both of us, let us wait for the court to decide and respect the outcome and not to talk in public about our private life,” Tiongson pointed out.
Tiongson clarified that she would not stop her children if they would opt to stay with Singson but would only request that she be allowed to visit them.
“My message to him because he (Singson) was saying that he still has a lot to show to the public about me, I must remind him, I’m still the mother of our children…I don’t think he will not be hurt by all of these things; how much more our children?” she pleaded.
TV reports last night showed Tiongson’s apartment in Quezon City had apparently been emptied of appliances and furniture.
Female Cabinet members gang up on Chavit, say he must go on leave
Female Cabinet officials ganged up yesterday on Deputy National Security Adviser Luis “Chavit” Singson and told him to take a leave of absence out of delicadeza pending criminal investigation into his alleged maltreatment of his common-law wife.
Women’s rights advocates and the militant women’s group Gabriela, meanwhile, urged Malacañang to relieve the controversial former Ilocos Sur governor, and even accused the President of protecting Singson for her failure to impose sanctions.
But President Arroyo has already ordered National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, who is Singson’s immediate superior, “to look into the matter and make the appropriate recommendations,” according to Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo.
“Justice will also be served following his (Singson) involvement in an alleged domestic dispute,” Fajardo said.
“The President as a woman as well as the head of our government is alarmed and seriously concerned by such charges against a person, who is regarded as part of her circle, though not part of her official family,” she said.
However, Fajardo emphasized that the President could not slap preventive suspension on Singson as there is no administrative complaint filed against him and that the incident was “a personal and domestic problem.”
Singson, who is accused of beating up his common-law wife Rachel “Che” Tiongson after she was allegedly caught with a lover, was reportedly in China. It was not clear whether his trip there was official or personal.
It’s a woman thing
Fajardo said Mrs. Arroyo “feels very strongly about this as a woman” but recognized that there must be due process and the rule of law must be upheld.
She said Singson should also “spare the President and the Palace” from the issue.
“Personally, I know out of delicadeza, Gov. Chavit doesn’t need the President telling him to file leave of absence. Maybe he can do that himself. He can volunteer to file a leave of absence, if he feels that he needs to settle also his personal problem first,” she said.
“I feel very strongly about this. I’m mad and angry but our emotions should not. We are all professional as well and this is a personal matter between the governor and his family, any violence or crime should not be tolerated at all, he has to be subjected to the rule of law,” she said, adding that “women should be loved, respected and cared for.”
She said she would not know what to say to Singson if she bumps into him in the Palace.
Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, who has been crusading for the protection and welfare of women and children, said she felt offended by Singson’s alleged violence against Tiongson.
“There must be justice. He should not wait (for orders), he must do something out of delicadeza,” Cabral told The STAR in a telephone interview.
She said she felt Tiongson has a case against Singson based on news reports.
Science and Technology Secretary Estrella Alabastro did not mince words and described Singson’s actions as “horrible.”
She, however, stressed that all she knows about the case is what she read in the newspapers.
“I don’t want to see that happen to anyone. We see women as more fragile and not being able to defend themselves,” Alabastro said.
She said even with the apparent “mitigating circumstances,” Singson would find it hard to justify his alleged maltreatment.
“If I were the one accused, and even if I did nothing wrong, I would take a leave so that I would not be accused of influencing the investigation,” Alabastro said.
Gonzales said he was to meet with Singson over dinner last night shortly after the latter’s arrival from China.
“I will talk to him and listen to him,” Gonzales told The STAR.
He said despite being on the job as national security chief for quite sometime, he found the task to investigate Singson difficult “This is only because this is private and personal and family matter,” he said.
Gabriela: ‘Throw him the books’
But women’s rights advocates are testy on the matter.
Clara Rita Padilla, executive director of the group EnGenderRights, assured they would give Tiongson full support on the case she filed in the court.
“Chavit has no right to physically abuse her. There is no excuse for violence against women,” Padilla said.
“In fact, Chavit should be relieved by the government from his post as deputy national security adviser to set an example that no one should commit violence versus women,” Padilla added.
Gabriela party-list Rep. Liza Maza said the excuse given by Malacañang that it cannot interfere in Singson’s case is proof that it is condoning the act, which was in clear violation of the Anti-Violence Against Women And Children Act (RA 9262).
Apart from violence against women, the former Ilocos Sur governor is also liable under the newly-passed Magna Carta of Women, which President Arroyo herself signed into law.
Under the law, Maza said the government is mandated to “fulfill these duties through law, policy, regulatory instruments, administrative guidelines and other appropriate measure including temporary special measures.”
“Malacañang is feigning ignorance of the law that any form of violence against women in a sexual relationship is a public crime under RA 9262,” she said.
“It is clear in the Magna Carta of Women Chapter 3 Section 5, that the state as the primary duty-bearer shall protect women against discrimination and from violation of their rights,” Maza said.
“Under a macho society, women are treated as objects and possessions of men, that is why a law such as Anti-VAWC is in place to protect women from violence and abuse that emanates from this view,” she added.
Records from PNP Women’s Desk data showed that domestic violence ranks the highest among all cases of violence against women. In 2007, it showed that a woman is battered every one hour and 50 minutes.
Maza is one of the co-authors of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.
She had extended her support to Tiongson and acknowledged her courage in asserting her rights.
Tiongson has asked the Quezon City regional trial court to issue a temporary protection order to prevent Singson from going near her within a distance of one kilometer.
Her pesampayanon was reportedly granted. – Paolo Romero, Perseus Echeminada, Delon Porcalla, Helen Flores