Former Arroyo Cabinet secretary Rigoberto Tiglao has slammed outspoken former APO Hiking Society member Jim Paredes for interfering in Philippine political matters even if he had previously emigrated to Australia.
In his Manila Times column, Tiglao described Paredes as someone who “pretends to be concerned about the nation, when in his middle-aged years, he chooses to be an Australian.”
Paredes is among the personalities who attended President Benigno Aquino III’s formal endorsement of the candidacy of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas at Club Filipino last Friday (July 31). He’s also known as a vocal defender of the Aquino administration.
The musician earlier admitted in interviews that he moved to Australia with his family in 1998—when then-President Joseph Estrada assumed office— because he had given up on the Philippines.
But in a 2014 interview with Philippine Star columnist Ching Alano, Paredes said he’s living alone in the Philippines now while his family are still in Australia.
“My two kids like it there, they’re already dual citizens. My wife can be a citizen if she wants. Me, I’m just a permanent resident, I go in and out,” he said.
(c) politico