Roxas mulls liabilities of CamNorte gov accused of threatening wife

By: Marlon Ramos - 10 years ago

MANILA, Philippines—Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said he has been looking into the possible liabilities of Camarines Norte Gov. Edgardo Tallado, whose wife surfaced in the media last week five days after she was reported missing and accused the governor of plotting to kill her.

Speaking with reporters, Roxas admitted that it was the first time that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) was faced with such a situation.

The interior secretary refused to be drawn into the controversy, saying he did not want to act as a “marriage counselor” to Tallado and his wife, Josie.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

He admitted that he helped arrange the meeting between the couple last week, but said he was not present when the camp of the governor and his estranged wife met.

“We leave that to the family lawyers. They asked for my intervention not as a family counselor, but to give them space for them to talk things over,” Roxas said when asked if Tallado could be charged for allegedly threatening to harm his wife after she learned about his extra-marital affair.

“I was not present during their conversation because I did not want to intervene in what they discussed about. It’s not for me to comment on their intra-marital situation,” he added.

Asked if Tallado would face sanctions from the DILG, he said: “Honestly, this was the first time that an incident like this happened. We are looking into his possible accountabilities.”

Tallado, a member of Roxas’ Liberal Party, announced in the media that Josie, his wife of 28 years, had gone missing together with her aide.

After a few days, Josie came out in a television show and disclosed that she intentionally left their home in Labo town, Camarines Norte province, out of fear.

She accused her husband of trying to harm her after the governor supposedly suspected her of spreading the nude photos of a young woman, who has allegedly been Tallado’s mistress.

On Monday, Tallado apologized to his province mates and his family, but did not admit that he had an extramarital relationship with the woman.

Since Friday, photographs of the governor kissing and hugging a naked woman started circulating in Facebook and other social networking sites.