Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro on Monday rejected Senator Robin Padilla’s characterization that Malacañang officials were being “balat-sibuyas,” or thin-skinned, insisting the government does not react the way she said the senator himself does when interrupted.
“Hindi po tayo balat-sibuyas. Hindi po tayo umaalma katulad nung ibang ginagawa na tinaasan lang ng boses dahil sa kanyang pagsisingit or pag-interrupt sa pagsasalita ng isang senador ay biglang umalma na at medyo nag-alboroto. ‘Yan po ang totoong balat-sibuyas,” Castro said at a press conference, in remarks reported by the Philippine Star. The comment appeared to reference past instances in which Padilla objected to being spoken over during Senate sessions.
The exchange traces back to Marcos Jr.’s July 1 to 4 official visit to Vancouver, where he and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney elevated Philippines-Canada relations to a strategic partnership. The trip was shadowed by protest actions from Filipino organizations in several Canadian cities, and Castro herself was confronted by a small group while filming social media content for the delegation. According to an account reported by Rappler, a person who appeared to be Filipino approached Castro, asked to confirm her identity, then shouted at her to tell the President to resign before being joined by at least one other protester who followed her as she tried to leave.
Padilla waded into the episode on July 4, defending the right of Filipinos abroad to voice their grievances. Drawing on what he described as his own observations of orderly Filipino protests overseas, particularly in the Netherlands, the senator said expressing one’s sentiments is not an act of rudeness but a right of every citizen who loves his country. He urged government officials to stay open to criticism as part of public service.
It was in that statement that Padilla first invoked the phrase now at the center of the dispute. “Huwag tayong maging balat-sibuyas sa gobyerno. Pinili natin ang trabahong ito, kaya dapat nating tanggapin hindi lamang ang papuri kundi pati ang puna at galit ng ating mga kababayan,” Padilla said. He added that genuine democracy is measured not by silence but by the capacity to listen even to words one does not want to hear.
Castro, for her part, has maintained that while freedom of expression is valued, the confrontation in Vancouver crossed into disrespect. She earlier said the behavior did not reflect Filipino values and called for civility despite political differences.
The Padilla-Castro friction is not new. The two clashed publicly in late November 2025 after the senator played an unverified audio recording in the Senate that he suggested was linked to Castro, a claim she flatly denied and challenged him to source.
