A seven-month old misleading video by a Pro-Duterte YouTube channel again made the rounds on social media, claiming the “real evidence of cheating” by Vice-President Leni Robredo and her presidential running mate Manuel “Mar” Roxas in the 2016 elections had been discovered.
YouTube channel DUTERTE NEWS REPORT copied a 10-minute video, originally posted on Facebook by Davao-based group MindaVote on March 14. It features MindaVote administrator Carlos Munda accusing Robredo’s camp of cheating on their online survey ahead of the 2016 national polls.
DUTERTE NEWS REPORT titled its video with:
“NALAMAN NARIN SAWAKAS ANG TUNAY AT IBEDENSYA NG PANDARAYA Ni ROBREDO at ROXAS KAY MARCOS at DUTERTE (The real evidence of cheating by Robredo and Roxas of Marcos and Duterte has been finally discovered.)”
The YouTube channel also copied MindaVote’s caption:
“Noong 2016 elections nagpa online survey po kami kung sino ang iboboto ng mga Pilipino bilang Presidente at Bise Presidente. Nagulat po kami sa resulta sa Vice President, imbes na si Bongbong Marcos o Alan Peter Cayetano, si Leni Robredo ang nanguna. Ngunit nung tinignan namin ang resulta at pinag aralan isa isa ang mga sumagot, lumabas ang pandaraya nga kampo ni Robredo. Panoorin nyo po itong video na ito para makita ang tunay na “honesty” at “integrity” ng mga kandidato ng oposisyon.Credit to: Mindavote
(On the 2016 elections, we conducted an online survey to find out who the Filipinos vote for as president and vice president. We were shocked at the results of the vote for vice president, instead of Bongbong Marcos or Alan Peter Cayetano, Leni Robredo emerged on top. But when we checked the results and studied each of the respondents, the cheating of the camp of Robredo was found. Watch this video to see the real “honesty” and “integrity” of the candidates of the opposition. Credit to: Mindavote)”
DUTERTE NEWS REPORT’s title misleads as it exaggerated and transposed MindaVote’s claim of cheating on their online pre-election survey with the result of both the presidential and vice-presidential elections.
A protest against the result of the vice-presidential race was filed before the Supreme Court (SC) in 2016 by former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. In April 2018, the vote recount began in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Camarines Sur. Justice Benjamin Caguioa, Supreme Court member in charge of the Marcos-Robredo poll case, submitted on Sept. 9 the report on the vote recount.
No one contested Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s win in the Supreme Court.
The YouTube video resurfaced on Facebook weeks after the Supreme Court announced that Justice Caguioa, SC member-in-charge of the Marcos-Robredo poll case, had already submitted his report on the initial vote recount. The decision of the high court, sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal, is expected to be out any time soon.
DUTERTE NEWS REPORT’s misleading video could have reached more than 2 million social media users, with traffic largely coming from public Facebook groups Justice for Marcos and Tulfo Brothers Worldwide and Facebook page Imee R. Marcos Movement for Senator 2019.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
