MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo questioned the barrage of misleading information about her – including the narrative that she cheated in the 2016 vice presidential race – stressing that the Supreme Court (SC) unanimously dismissed the electoral protest against her.
Robredo on the sidelines of her sortie in Sorsogon City on Friday was asked about the cyber libel case filed by her spokesperson, lawyer Barry Gutierrez, against a media outfit claiming that she is being advised by exiled communist leader Jose Maria Sison.
In her answer, Robredo lamented the state of misinformation in the country, adding that fake news about the elections being rigged in her favor is still being circulated despite the SC decision.
“So sobrang malayo siya sa katotohanan, talagang ginagawa lang ito para linlangin talaga ang tao. Nakakalungkot lang ngayon kasi ‘yung pag-spread ng kasinungalingan ganun pa din,” Robredo told reporters in an ambush interview.
“Halimbawa na lang ‘yong election protest na binrand ako na nandaya. Ilang beses ko na siyang natalo sa Supreme Court, unanimous ang decision, 15-0, ang narrative niya dinaya pa din siya,” she added.
Robredo further said that she feels sorry for people who fall prey to such misinformation campaigns.
“So parang wala nang redemption, talagang ang sinungaling sa umpisa, sinungaling din sa kahuli-hulihan. Kawawa ‘yung mga Pilipinong napapaniwala,” she noted.
Robredo won the 2016 vice presidential race, beating Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by 260,000 votes. But her win was not without controversy, as Marcos protested it before the SC, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).
Marcos claimed that he was the victim of massive electoral fraud – a belief he keeps until now. Just this week, Marcos said in a campaign rally that he would ask friends for coffee for his supporters as several things happened when they fell asleep, apparently referring to Robredo overtaking him in 2016 by midnight.
But in February 2021, the SC Justices voted 15-0 – unanimously junking the poll protest against Robredo for lack of merit. This was after Robredo’s lead grew bigger after a recount of votes in three provinces handpicked by Marcos.
READ: PET dismisses Marcos poll protest vs Robredo, stresses ‘entire’ case junked
READ: Bongbong got it wrong: Robredo says PET junked entire poll protest
In this May polls, Robredo and Marcos are locked in another battle – this time, for the presidency.
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