December 5, 2000, The Philippine Star, Another Palace attack Gloria, by Liberty Dones and Marichu Villanueva,

December 5, 2000, The Philippine Star, Another Palace attack Gloria, by Liberty Dones and Marichu Villanueva, 

Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo charged Malacañang yesterday with "black propaganda" for the circulation of her fake Christmas greetings. The Christmas card shows the Vice President’s picture superimposed on a photo of Malacañang Palace, with the words "Nawa’y sumainyo ang Diwa ng Kapaskuhan. Magkita-kita Tayo sa Malakanyang (May the spirit of Christmas be with you. We will be seeing each other at Malacañang). 

The card bore her signature. At the back were the names of her 24 supposed Cabinet members led by House Minority Leader Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr., with the title "executive secretary." Arroyo said the release of those cards was part of the Estrada administration’s agenda to discredit her and the political opposition as embodied in its "God Save the King" project revealed by former President Fidel Ramos. 

"That really shows the vast resources available to those who want to retain the seat of power and how unscrupulously they use these resources," she said. She asked the people to be vigilant against black propaganda and not to be misled. 

Earlier, posters sprouted in Metro Manila showing her picture and with her initials taking a new meaning: Gahaman Maupo Agad (Greedy to sit immediately). Lawyer Renato Corona, her chief of staff, said the distribution of the cards via e-mail and courier service has a "distinguishable Malacañang patent." 

"Although the ploy of sending out such greeting cards obviously betrays the utter lack of creativeness necessary for an effective black propaganda campaign, this is a clear and unmistakable confirmation that the administration ploy to discredit the Vice President and the opposition really exists," Corona said. 

Malacañang, however, vehemently denied any hand in the production and distribution of the fake Christmas cards. At a press briefing at Malacañang yesterday, Press Secretary Ricardo Puno Jr. said the Office of the Press Secretary, as the government’s chief information agency, is not engaged in any black propaganda against the Vice President and other opposition leaders. 

The OPS has just released for broadcast on state-run television and radio stations and on ABS-CBN a supposed documentary extolling the achievements of President Estrada and criticizing the performance of his  predecessors, former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos. 

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora denied yesterday the accusation of the Vice President that Malacañang is trying to convince jueteng lord Bong Pineda to testify on her alleged jueteng links in Pampanga. 

Arroyo’s camp claimed that Philippine National Police chief Panfilo Lacson went to the US to convince Pineda to testify in the separate impeachment complaint against her filed at the House. "I was really surprised by this (rumor). I’ve just read this in newspapers. There is no such plan and there is no such activity," Zamora said. Malacañang did not inform the public on the specific nature of Lacson’s sudden trip to the US.