Is this a legitimate reason?
“On Tuesday, July 1, President Noynoy Aquino admitted that the reason why he rejected Nora Aunor’s nomination as National Artist for Film was because she was involved in drugs,” report Bong Lozada Jr. and Kristine Sabillo on Inquirer.net.
Aquino was quoted as saying, “Sa aking pananaw yung national artist binibigyan natin ng honor na ito, puri na ito ay malaki ang ambag sa lahing Pilipino at dapat tularan. Ang naging problema ko lang dun ay alam naman natin lahat…naconvict po sya sa drugs (In my opinion, those being given the honor of national artist are those who had a huge contribution to the Philippines and should serve as role models. My only problem with Nora Aunor’s nomination is that she was convicted for the use of illegal drugs).”
However, in another Inquirer.net report by Nestor Corrales, lawyer Claire Navarro-Espina was quoted as saying in a Facebook post, “Nora Aunor was never convicted of a crime, let alone a crime involving drugs here in Los Angeles. I was the attorney who represented her.”
So, which is it?
Screengrab from a Gov.ph video
