Noli parries blows from ex-wife

The daughter of administration vice presidential candidate Sen. Noli de Castro with his first wife denied last night that she was ever abandoned by her father.

In an interview with GMA-7’s "Frontpage," Manueli de Castro-Arcaya said she has always been close to her father, who paid for her studies even after his marriage to Maria Betita Torralba had been annulled.

"Hindi po totoo ‘yan. Sa katunayan po ay lagi kaming magkakasama. Nagsisimba po kami nang sabay-sabay nina Mommy Arlene ko at mga kapatid ko (That is not true. We always see each other and we even hear Mass with my Mommy Arlene and my other siblings)," Manueli said, referring to the senator’s wife, Arlene de Castro, who is an executive at ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. where the couple first met. They have three children.

De Castro, a broadcast journalist, also parried his ex-wife’s accusations over their daughter, saying they were politically motivated.

In a television interview, De Castro disclosed that Torralba, his first wife, had earlier asked for P200,000 from him for a tourism project by Bohol’s local government.

It was not clear what the program exactly was but when De Castro contacted a local mayor’s office where Torralba worked, he was told that his former spouse was no longer connected with them.

Torralba reportedly threatened to go to the media if De Castro would not give her the money.

Manueli appealed to her mother to stop her tirades against De Castro. "Nasasaktan po ako (I am hurting from the controversy)."

She revealed it "has been years" since she last saw Torralba.

"Si daddy nagpa-aral sa akin, simula elementary hanggang college (It was my daddy who put me through school from elementary through college)," she said.

A statement faxed to The STAR last night condemned De Castro as a "liar" for "misrepresenting himself as a college graduate" and allegedly for "betraying" their own child.

It was stated there that Torralba describes her husband as "unfit to aspire for the vice presidency" because he lacks education.

De Castro only finished second year college, contrary to his claim that he was a commerce graduate, it said.

Torralba also reportedly accused De Castro of having his diploma and transcript of records forged on C. M. Recto Avenue in Manila, where school records are easily faked.