A video on Facebook (FB) is claiming that Sen. Robinhood Padilla called President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stupid and useless. This is not true. The senator was referring to his critics.
On Oct. 1, an FB page published the video with the following false headline:
“SEN.ROBIN ISA PALANG SPY NG CHINA!|SEN.ROBIN SINABING ÛGÒK UMANO SI PBBM AT WALANG SILBÎ!
(Senator Robin is apparently a spy of China! Senator Robin called [Marcos] stupid and useless!)”
The video’s headline used accented characters on certain words to avoid keyword search detection. It is a clickbait. The 26-minute video featured a Sept. 27 commentary by former news anchor Mike Abe criticizing Padilla over his stance on the West Philippine Sea.
Abe’s commentary never mentioned Padilla’s supposed insult against the president. However, the senator did say people who have criticized him are “ugok” (stupid) in an online post last week.
In a Sept. 26 FB post on the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) removing China’s floating barriers on the West Philippine Sea, Padilla said his critics are attention-seekers and gossipers, further calling them stupid in the comment section.
The senator also said people should let the president “do the talking and the walking” and the PCG do their job defending the country’s national territory.
The video with the incorrect headline emerged weeks after Padilla drew flak for questioning the presence of the United States in the West Philippine Sea, saying the Philippines does not need the help of the superpower.
FB page B0ng bong Marcos tayo sa 2022 (created on Oct. 24, 2021) published the video, garnering over 2,000 reactions, 1,900 comments, 360 shares and 58,000 views.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
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