Pampanga gov says Facebook post naming him COVID-19-infected is ‘fake news’

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO –– Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda on Tuesday (May 5) labeled a Facebook post that says he was infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as fake news.

Pineda set the record straight in his official Facebook page to counter a post made by a certain Jane Fernandez, who claimed that the governor has been confined at The Medical City (TMC) for the past three weeks, and had infected his wife.

Fernandez, who claimed to be associated with TMC, said this was why Pineda had not been seen in public.

Pineda stamped a screenshot of Fernandez’s post as “Fake News.”

“I am strong. I do not have any ailments, and I work at the Capitol until night,” he said in Filipino. A photograph included in the post shows the image of a patient in a hospital bed that was superimposed with Pineda’s head.

Evelyn Yumul, marketing and sales director of TMC Clark, confirmed that the post was false, saying Fernandez was not an employee of TMC.

She said it was not the hospital’s policy to announce the name and illness of its patients.

The Inquirer could not confirm Fernandez’s identity. Her online profile indicated that she was employed by a big casino at Clark Freeport.

LZB