‘Walang masabing maganda tungkol sa kanila’: Robredo says Marcos camp ‘resorting to fake news’

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo believes that the deluge of fake information about her and her family — including malicious rumors about one of her daughters — originated from the camp of former senator Bongbong Marcos.

In an ambush interview after her campaign rally in San Fernando, La Union, Robredo was asked whether she thinks that the misleading social media posts and the fake lewd videos of her daughter came from the Marcos camp — her opponent in the 2016 vice presidential race and in the upcoming presidential elections.

Robredo answered in the affirmative, saying that the situation has been the same in 2016 — when she and Marcos were fighting it out for the vice presidential race.

“Oo naman, oo naman kasi ginawa na niya sa akin since 2016, consistently ginagawa ‘yun sa akin since nag-pick up ‘yung numbers ko noong 2016 elections. Noong hindi pa nagpi-pick up ‘yung numbers ko, hindi naman ako pinapansin eh. Pero nag-pick up ‘yung numbers ko noong 2016, naging nasa receiving end na ako ng lahat na kasinungalingan,” she told reporters.

Robredo also took a shot against Marcos, saying that delivering fake information may be the only recourse of those who cannot show something good about themselves.

She also warned the public that such vile attacks from the other camp will transcend into governance if they get elected in the 2022 polls.

“Inaasahan namin siya, pero gusto nating ipakita na hindi ito ‘yung klase ng pamumuno saka kampanya na gusto natin. Kung papano sila lumaban ngayon, ganoon din pag nakaupo na sila. Puno ng kasinungalingan, puno ng dumihan,” she said.

“Dapat ang i-highlight na lang nila ‘yung kabutihan nila saka ‘yung kaya nilang gawin. Siguro kaya nag-reresort sa fake news kasi wala na talagang masabing maganda tungkol sa kanila,” she added.

According to the Vice President, the same set of influencers and social media personalities who have been spreading fake news about her and her family are now with the Marcos camp.

However, she said that they prefer to focus on what they have been doing — which is to convince voters that their platform would be best for the country, and that such vile attacks from the other camp will transcend into governance if they get elected in the 2022 polls.

“Nakikita naman natin ‘yung mga nakapaligid sa kaniya, ito din ‘yung mga ginagamit niyang mga influencers hanggang ngayon. Hindi ako hinintuan over the last six years, pero kung meron mang lesson na nakuha ko from that, wala talagang kapalit ang paggawa ng kabutihan, walang kapalit ‘yung katotohanan, kasi ‘yung kasinungalingan pinapaniwalaan lang ‘yun ng mga tao na napapaniwala nila sa atin,” she said.

“Pero at the end of the day, sa dulo ng lahat, kabutihan at katotohanan pa din ‘yung pipiliin ng tao,” she claimed.

On Monday, rumors about a supposed lewd video of Robredo’s eldest daughter Aika Robredo were found on search engines, which supporters of the Vice President quickly pointed out were fake.

Several netizens reported that the videos, which have been taken down, are only deepfakes or videos manufactured using the face of a person which is stitched over another video.

Robredo in a statement on Monday did not mention the particular incident, but urged her supporters to refrain from losing focus, noting that continuing to do good despite the attacks was how she survived the last six years.

“Best antidote to fake news is the TRUTH. Let us not lose focus. Tuloy tuloy lang ang paggawa ng kabutihan. This was how I survived the last 6 years,” she said in a Twitter post.

Robredo’s spokesperson Barry Guteirrez also said  that such attacks are a mere distraction to what has been going on.

However, Marcos’ camp have denied any involvement in the rumors, with Marcos’ chief of staff Vic Rodriguez saying that the high trust ratings of their candidate would not prompt them to do negative campaigning.

Rodriguez also claimed that Robredo were only deceiving the people.

“Presidential frontrunner Bongbong Marcos’ net trust rating of 53 percent provides us with the motivation to continue with our positive way of campaigning,” Rodriguez said.

“Mrs. Robredo and her yellow crew can no longer deceive the Filipino people as we have all been awakened from their propaganda of lies, falsehood, and politics of deception.  In the spirit of lent, I admonish you not to pass on to us your brand of fake, hateful, negative and gutter politics,” he added.

Criminal liability over fake video

Robredo in her interview also noted that lawyers are now looking at possible legal action against those who perpetrated false information about her and her daughters.  Similarly, senatorial candidates Senator Risa Hontiveros and former Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat said that people behind the malicious rumors may be criminally liable.

“The news circulating about Aika Robredo’s fake porn video is downright misogynistic. The Safe Spaces Act, which I authored, clearly prohibits and penalizes any misogynistic behavior even online. Pwedeng-pwedeng kasuhan ang mga nagpapakalat nitong fake video,” Hontiveros said.

“It is never acceptable to use a woman’s body in an attempt to defame one’s character. Nakakagalit na humahantong sa kabastusan ng pagkababae at pagkatao ang panahon ng kampanya,” she added.

Baguilat meanwhile said the rumors about Aika Robredo only proves how low other camps can get just to win.

“This is also a form of harassment, and sigurado akong actionable wrong na itong ginagawa nila especially to Aika Robredo. Napakasama na ng kampanya ng mga troll farms ng kabilang panig,” Baguilat said.

“We cannot believe how low they can get. Makikita ng mga tao ang kamalian sa ginagawa nila. They are actually converting votes for us,” he added.

Robredo and her family have been victims of several disinformation campaigns in the past, even before the Vice President announced her candidacy.  In 2020, a Facebook account was discovered to be masquerading as Robredo’s second daughter Tricia Robredo, using the latter’s display photos while sending hateful messages to other people.

Just recently, fact-checker Tsek.ph said that Robredo is the biggest victim of negative misinformation, while her opponent in the 2016 vice presidential polls and in the upcoming 2022 national elections, former senator Bongbong Marcos, is the beneficiary of positive but misleading messages in social media.

This has led the Vice President to insist that battling misinformation would be key to winning in the elections.

READ: Robredo pins May 9 victory on surmounting fake news

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