Atty. Victor Rodriguez, chief of staff and spokesperson of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Screengrab from PTV
MANILA, Philippines — The chief of staff and spokesperson of presidential contender Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday denied having said that national and local candidates of the so-called “UniTeam” will no longer attend debates.
“The statement being attributed to me with the title, ‘WALA NG DEBATE PARA SA MGA KANDIDATO NG UNITEAM MAGMULA PRESIDENTE HANGGANG KONSEHAL,’ is a complete falsity and downright lie,” said Victor Rodriguez in a statement.
(The statement being attributed to me with the title, “THERE WILL BE NO DEBATE FOR CANDIDATES OF UNITEAM FROM PRESIDENT TO COUNCILORS” is a complete falsity and downright lie.)
Earlier, Rodriguez was quoted on social media as supposedly saying that “due to traumas experienced” by two of its senatorial candidates in a debate, candidates of the UniTeam will no longer participate in any organized debate.
Rodriguez, in his statement, called this fake news.
“Isa po syang fake news o pekeng impormasyon na may layong iligaw ang ating mga kababayan mula sa katotohanan (This is fake news or information that aims to sway the public from the truth). There is no such statement coming from me nor the BBM-Sara UniTeam,” he said.
He even claimed that the quote was part of the “gutter politics” their adversaries are supposedly using against Marcos.
“This election is all about the future and as such, we the Filipino people deserve more than your gutter strategy. I appeal to those behind this to please respect the intellect and dignity of the people, practice restraint in the spread of your fake news and outrageous lies,” he said.
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