A graphic featuring Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo’s partial answer to a question in a radio interview was uploaded by several Facebook (FB) accounts, including an FB page of a former Palace media consultant, to make her look dumb. It is misleading.
The graphic failed to provide Robredo’s full answer to a follow-up question on a what-if crisis scenario.
STATEMENT
On Feb. 5, FB page Luminous by Trixie Cruz-Angeles & Ahmed Paglinawan, managed by the two lawyers, posted a graphic with a cartoon of Robredo’s face.
The image features a part of Robredo’s answer to radio anchor Deo Macalma’s follow-up question during the DZRH presidential interview on Feb. 2, with the overlaid text:
“DZRH: ‘Ano ang sasabihin mo kay Biden kung may CIA report na lulusubin ng China ang Pilipinas (What will you tell Biden if there is a CIA report that China will invade the Philippines)?’
‘Ibibigay ko kay Pres. Biden ang report.’ (I will give the report to Pres. Biden)
– Leni Robredo, DZRH TV, February 2, 2022”
Source: Luminous by Trixie Cruz-Angeles & Ahmed Paglinawan Facebook page, Waiting for their Department of Explanations in 3…2…1…, Feb. 5, 2022
Cruz-Angeles previously worked as a social media consultant in the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).
Commenting on the post, many netizens criticized Robredo for being an “idiot” while others described her as “lutang na lutang (drifting away).”
The FB post has since garnered more than 16,000 reactions, 2,900 comments and 2,400 shares. The graphic itself was uploaded by at least 151 FB groups and pages, including the verified page of singer Richard Poon, since the day after the radio interview. Overall, it gained more than 32,000 interactions, according to social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle.
FACT
The FB post excluded the original premise of the questions and cut out portions of Robredo’s response.
During the DZRH interview, Robredo was asked what she would do in a hypothetical crisis situation in which she, as president, before a private meeting with United States (U.S.) President Joe Biden, received a report from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) stating that China planned to invade Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea with a military fleet of 300 in the next five days.
Robredo replied that in her first 100 days, she will “make sure” that the Philippines’ armed forces are “equipped” so it will not be “caught off guard” by such a threat. She mentioned the country’s Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S., in which both countries committed to help the other in times of “foreign aggression.”
The vice president also said that she will ensure that the country’s presence in the West Philippine Sea is “very apparent,” and that her government will provide fisherfolk with “enough capabilities and enough equipment” to continue fishing in the area “without fear.”
Later in the interview, Macalma followed-up on what Robredo would say to Biden given this scenario. She responded:
“Ibibigay ko sa kanya ‘yung intelligence report na binigay sa akin at sasabihin ko sa kanya na, ‘Ito ‘yung binigay sa akin ng iyong Central Intelligence Agency,’ at siguro hindi ko naman siya kailangang ipaalala (sic) na mayroon tayong Mutual Defense Treaty na kapag kinakailangan natin sila ay dapat nakahanda silang tulungan tayo.”
(I will give him the intelligence report given to me and tell him, ‘This is what your Central Intelligence Agency gave me,’ and I’m sure I don’t need to remind him that we have a Mutual Defense Treaty, under which, when we need them, they should be ready to help us.)
Source: DZRH News Television, Bakit Ikaw? DZRH Presidential job interview with VP Leni Robredo (Transcript), Feb. 3, 2022, watch from 1:03:35 to 1:03:54
Luminous by Trixie Cruz-Angeles & Ahmed Paglinawan has a history of spreading disinformation. (Read VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Former PCOO social media consultant, netizens revive ‘dextrose’ photo of Isko Moreno that needs context and VERA FILES FACT CHECK: PH didn’t ‘handpick’ entire panel in South China Sea arbitration case)
Cruz-Angeles and Paglinawan’s post came out a day after Robredo’s attendance in a live presidential forum organized by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas.
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Sources
Luminous by Trixie Cruz-Angeles & Ahmed Paglinawan Facebook page, Waiting for their Department of Explanations in 3…2…1…, Feb. 5, 2022
DZRH News Television, Bakit Ikaw? DZRH Presidential job interview with VP Leni Robredo, Feb. 3, 2022
Office of the Vice President, Vice President Leni Robredo at the Bakit Ikaw? The DZRH Presidential Job Interview, Feb. 2, 2022
(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)
