A video circulating on social media falsely claims that Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo rejected ex-vice president Leni Robredo’s offer to help his department during calamities.
“DSWD TINANGGIHAN ANG ALOK NI LENI ROBREDO! LENI SUPALPAL AT PAHIYA PA ANG INABOT KAY ERWIN TULFO (DSWD rejected Leni Robredo’s offer! Leni ended up getting rebuked and humiliated by Erwin Tulfo),” read the title of the video which was uploaded on Aug. 29 on YouTube and Facebook (FB).
A narrator repeated the false claim in the clip, saying Robredo was humiliated after her Angat Buhay non-government organization proposed to work with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Tulfo himself said he accepted Robredo’s offer of providing volunteers to help disseminate information and aid in far-flung areas.
In an Aug. 29 episode of DZRH News’ Dos Por Dos program, Tulfo told broadcaster Anthony Taberna:
“Tinanggap naman ho natin… dahil ito naman po ay voluntary at libre naman ho itong mga impormasyon na ito (We accepted it… because it is voluntary and the information was provided for free).”
Tulfo clarified during the radio interview that the DSWD does not have a formal collaboration or partnership with Angat Buhay. He added that the Robredo-founded NGO made no such proposal.
The false post surfaced three days after Robredo, accompanied by some Angat Buhay officials, met with the secretary.
Posted by FB page GMA News TH (created on July 3, 2020) and YouTube channel C&C NEWS UPDATE (created on Nov. 20, 2020), the erroneous video got over 302,800 FB interactions and nearly 30,000 YouTube views.
VERA Files Fact Check has previously debunked other false claims posted by both social media pages.
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