The Department of National Defense (DND) denied report on the alleged Maltese passport of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr..

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said Teodoro “surrendered and renounced” the foreign passport in 2021 before filing his certificate of candidacy for senator for the 2022 elections.

Teodoro had disclosed the passport’s existence to the Bureau of Immigration and the Commission on Elections before the 2022 polls and the Commission on Appointments prior to the confirmation of his appointment as defense secretary.

Teodoro was appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as defense chief in 2023. He previously held the same post from 2007 to 2009 under the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Under Philippine law, dual citizenship is prohibited for public officials.

The DND did not clarify how Teodoro acquired the Maltese passport, nor did it address reports suggesting that he could have obtained it through Malta’s controversial citizenship-by-investment program.

Report had alleged that Teodoro was issued a passport from Malta with a 10-year validity in 2016, which supposedly meant he was a dual citizen of the Philippines and the European country.