Vice President Leni Robredo. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has been fed with false information about her since she joined the Cabinet and until now, Vice President Leni Robredo said Wednesday.
According to Robredo, it is a cause for concern that fake news peddlers surround Duterte, who insinuated Tuesday night that she was trying to take over his duties as Chief Executive and that she started the #NasaanAngPangulo movement on social media at the height of typhoons that recently pummelled many parts of the country.
She noted that it was a case of déjà vu because she was removed twice from Duterte’s Cabinet — as housing czar and drug war chair — based on lies.
“Kung sino man iyong nagsumbong sa Pangulo, nagsisinungaling. At hindi po ito first time na nangyari. Noong tinanggal po ako sa Cabinet, ganoon din iyong dahilan. Ang basehan niya isang kasinungalingan,” Robredo told reporters in Camarines Sur.
(Whoever the President’s informant is, that person is lying. And this is not the first time it happened. When I was removed from the Cabinet, fake information was also the cause. Lies were used as a basis.)
She then expressed disbelief as to why the government involves itself in spreading fake news — which is already a growing problem in the country.
She also asked how the government is able to manage the country using false information that does not benefit the public.
“Nakakapag-alala lang na isa sa pinakamalaking problema sa Pilipinas iyong fake news, eh pati ba naman sa Malacañang? […] Hindi po ako sumakay sa C-130. Mayroon po kaming sariling pamigay. Hindi ko po kailangang mag-ride on kasi maraming private citizens na tumutulong sa atin,” she said.
(It is just worrying that the proliferation of fake news in the country is already among the biggest problems, but that it happens in Malacañang? I did not ride a C-130. I have my own relief goods. I do not need to ride-on because a lot of private citizens are already helping us.)
“Ang pinaka-punto ko lang, ano ba naman iyan? Bakit iyong pamamahala naka-base sa fake news? Hindi po siya nakakatulong lalo na ngayong sakuna,” she added.
(My main point is that, why is it like that? Why is the brand of government based on fake news? It does not help especially that we are now facing disasters.)
Robredo has mostly been the favorite victim of fake news peddlers. She has been the subject of a spate of memes claiming fake facts about her and her work as the second-highest leader of the country.
On Tuesday, Duterte lambasted Robredo for allegedly competing with him and grandstanding in the midst of calamities facing many Filipinos in the country.
READ: Duterte calls Robredo ‘dishonest’ for allegedly questioning his absence during typhoon
Duterte’s chief legal counsel, Secretary Salvador Panelo, also accused the Vice President of piggy-backing on the relief operations of the government – but only to apologize to Robredo later on for basing his “opinion” on a piece of false information he said he got from Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
READ: Panelo apologizes to Robredo over remarks based on false information
Robredo, however, has maintained that she never looked for the President while doing her own relief efforts as well as on her social media posts. She also stressed that extending help to victims of calamities “is not a contest.”
READ: Helping during a calamity is not a contest, Robredo tells Duterte
Robredo likewise expressed no fear of Duterte’s threat that he will expose her when the campaign season for the 2022 elections comes if the Vice President decides to join the presidential race.
READ: Duterte to ruin me? No problem but he better speak the truth – Robredo
KGA
RELATED STORY
Robredo on Duterte claims she invited foreign prosecutors: Fake news