Former beauty queen-actress Alma Concepcion came to the defense of her close friend Sylvia Sanchez and the latter’s family, particularly Quezon City 1st District Representative Arjo Atayde, amid mounting public criticism over their properties and lifestyle.
Concepcion, through a Facebook post on Wednesday, September 10, stressed that the Atayde family’s assets long predated Arjo’s entry into politics.
“MALINAW po ang mga petsa. Ang mga ari-arian tulad ng rest houses, yate na binabanggit sa balita ay nakita na namin noong 2021. Si Congressman Arjo Atayde ay nahalal noong 2022. Paki-check po ang timeline kung kailan na-acquire ang mga ito bago maghusga,” Concepcion wrote, attaching old photos from a yacht trip with the family.
She also reposted a throwback entry dated October 18, 2021, where she thanked Sanchez for inviting her and friends to spend time at their Batangas beach house. Alma’s brother Albert, she added, had even uploaded a three-year-old video tour of the same rest house and yacht on his YouTube channel.
The actress emphasized that the family already had these properties before Arjo became a congressman, countering insinuations that they were tied to the flood control scandal.
The Atayde family has come under fire after contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya, in a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on September 8, linked Arjo’s name to alleged kickbacks from government projects. Following the disclosure, netizens resurfaced old lifestyle features of Sylvia Sanchez that showcased the family’s rest houses, yacht, helicopter rides, and travels abroad.
Concepcion, however, insisted that the timeline proves otherwise: “Existing na ang mga ari-arian bago pa man mahalal si Arjo.”
