She met DR embassy officials early this year, not last month, says Horn

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo met with Dominican Republic (DR) Embassy officials at her Quezon City residence early this year and not last month, her spokesperson said on Friday.

An irked Elena Bautista-Horn denied an online news report that DR Ambassador Frank Hans Castellanos Dannenberg met with Arroyo when he returned to the Philippines in October.

Horn said Dannenberg, along with George Litton, his embassy’s honorary consul here, visited Arroyo at her home early this year to inform her that she was to be honored by his government with an order of merit award.

She said Arroyo left for the Dominican Republic weeks later to receive the award in May.

Horn said the pictures shown in the news report of move.ph were from the visit early this year. She denied that Dannenberg met with Arroyo when he supposedly returned to the country last month.

She said she would know if Arroyo and Dannenberg had a meeting in October because she was the former President’s appointment secretary.

“That’s not in our schedule. What’s that?” Horn said, sounding frustrated.

“Where are her braces [if these pictures were taken last month]? This is so malicious and distasteful. Why place old pictures [in the same story] to legitimize a rumor?” she said.

An immigration officer at Ninoy Aquino International Airport confirmed that Dannenberg arrived in the Philippines via Tiger Airways at 11:56 a.m. on Oct. 25 and left via the same airline on Oct. 28 at 11:18 a.m.

The officer added that according to records, the ambassador’s last departure from the Philippines prior to Oct. 28 was in July 2010. With a report from Tina G. Santos