Teodoro denies foreign citizenship claims, calls it smear campaign

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who previously held a Maltese passport which he renounced in 2021 before running for senatorial candidate in 2022, dismissed the report on his foreign citizenship as a 'smear campaign' and said he was warned last week that it would surface as a controversy.

Teodoro stated during a radio interview on Tuesday, July 15, that someone had informed him about the issue being raised but he brushed it off since he was no longer a dual citizen at the time of his senatorial run.

The Department of National Defense (DND) confirmed earlier in the week that Teodoro surrendered his Maltese passport in compliance with Philippine laws prohibiting dual citizenship for public officials, especially those occupying Cabinet-level positions.

Teodoro suggested the story was deliberately planted in a publication known to criticize policies against China and amplified by pro-China groups, aiming to remove him from office.

The defense secretary expressed that if he had been asked beforehand, he would have provided all evidence to explain his actions and confirmed that he obtained Maltese citizenship through the country's investment program in 2016 while looking for opportunities in Europe.