Former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has denied a social media report by his eldest son Alfonso claiming he built a mansion for his alleged mistress and acquired billions in properties beyond his salary. Alvarez urged an investigation into the claims and described his home as a simple three-bedroom house. He also clarified his marital status and rejected the mistress label for Jen Maliwanag.
In an interview with The STAR, former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez categorically denied claims that he built a mansion for Jen Maliwanag, whom his son labeled as his 'mistress.' “Better conduct an ocular inspection of the area, if there is an iota of truth to the allegations. Yes, he is my son, but even the branding that he was my former chief of staff is not true. Please investigate deeper into his background as a person,” Alvarez said.
Alfonso's social media post, titled “Road to my Mansion,” describes a house atop a hill surrounded by a concrete perimeter wall and a long, winding paved road leading to it. However, Alvarez asserted, “Of course, there is no mansion to talk about in the first place. Mine is only a three-bedroom house with no amenities.”
A longtime stalwart of Duterte’s PDP-Laban, Alvarez served as Speaker of the House of Representatives from July 2016 until July 2018, when he was ousted by Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He also denied that Alfonso was his congressional chief of staff from 2019 to early 2024.
“Jen is not my mistress, but rather, she is the mother of my two daughters. Legally speaking, my marital status is single since my marriage to a certain Emelita Apostol has been declared null and void ab initio (from the very start),” he said, citing decisions from the Makati regional trial court and the Court of Appeals.
Meanwhile, Alfonso stated, “It’s embarrassing to admit, but it is, what it is, it’s true, that’s the truth. The mansion is even made of materiales fuertes (strong materials), some items I believe where even imported from Thailand. I know that it’s government money. But we in our family don’t have anything to do with that.”
He added that the mansion was intended for Maliwanag and that Alvarez invested in properties in Siargao and Samal Island in Davao worth billions using dummies. “He has acquired and invested in so many real estate properties, some or many of them in Siargao and in Samal Island too. And these are worth billions. I also know that he has been using dummies for these properties,” Alfonso alleged. He noted that ordinary people could not afford such a project without a business empire.