Video: Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo reacts to disinformation, bashers, trolls, and fake news in an interview after the rally at the Kidapawan City Hall grounds on Tuesday, March 16, 2022.
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews /19 March) — Vice President Leni Robredo is calling for unity against disinformation, as she urged her opponents in the Presidential race to wage war against lies and base their campaigns on their candidates’ truths instead.
“Ang call to action talaga natin to everyone, na whatever color, dapat magkaisa tayo sa paglaban sa kasinungalingan. Kasi yung pinakanakakatakot, number one, na yung election na ito ang magiging basehan ay kasinungalingan (Our call to action now is for everyone, regardless of political color, to unite against disinformation. What we fear is that lies will determine the outcome of this election). Robredo said disinformation should not feed the victory of the next election, as it would encourage future politicians to invest heavily on trolls and similar tactics.
“Kapag naipanalo ito base sa kasinungalingan, yung mensahe natin sa mga pulitiko na ito na yung tried and tested na formula. Parang vote buying din yan eh. Pag nakalusot yung vote buying, every election yun na yung gagamitin na formula. The same dito sa trolling. Pag nagwagi yung mga bashers tsaka mga trolls, marami nang mag iinvest sa trolling and bashing kasi na prove na effective siya (If disinformation wins, future politicians would see this as a message that this is a tried and tested formula, much like vote buying, which has been used in every election. If bashers and trolls win, many politicians will invest in trolling and bashing if it’s proven effective in the coming elections),” she said.
Robredo said the tactics insult democracy itself.
“Para sa akin laban ito nating lahat. Hindi lang mga supporters, pero kasi ito niyuyurakan niya yung pinakabuod ng kung ano yung demokrasya. Kasi yung demokrasya, dapat ang tao mayroon siyang laya na pumili. Pero yung dapat na basehan niya sa pagpili ay katotohanan, hindi kasinungalingan (For me, this is a fight that involves all of us, not just my supporters. It steps upon the essence of what democracy is. In a democracy, people should have their freedom to choose. However, the basis for that choice must be true),” she said.
Asked about her own weaknesses, Robredo said she is a victim of heavy trolling.
“Ako talagang biktima ako ng heavy trolling. Kahit sa mga focus group discussions, pag tinatanong mo kung bakit ayaw sa akin, karamihan sa mga dahilan kung bakit ayaw sa akin dahil naniwala talaga sa fake news (I’ve been a victim of heavy trolling. Even in focus group discussions, if you ask people why they don’t prefer me, it’s because most of them really believe in fake news),” she said.
However, she said she did not let it bother the operations of her office in the past six years.
“Nakaya ko naman na six years itong mga unfair accusations, hindi siya naging sagabal with the work that I do, lalo pa noong kampanya. Lalo na sa akin, kung ang intent niya i-derail ang efforts na ginagawa natin nagsasayang sila ng oras. Hindi nga nito na-derail ang trabaho ko in the last six years, eh lalo pa ngayong kampanya (I’ve been able to deal with these accusations for six years and they have not interrupted the work that I do, what more with the elections. If they mean to derail our efforts, they’re just wasting their time).”
Meanwhile, Robredo said only her political opponents would be able to say if she threatened their campaign.
Robredo was reacting to candidates Isko Moreno criticizing her use of the term “laylayan ng lipunan” and Ping Lacson’s accusation that her campaign was conniving with the Communist Party of the Philippines.
“Sila lang ang makakapagsabi kung ano yung motivation nila kung bakit nila tayo pinupunterya. Pero ako kasi, battle scarred na ako eh. Coming from six years na heavy bashing tsaka trolling, alam ko na kung alin yung mga bibigyan ko ng pansin, at alin yung hindi (Only they can say what their motivation is for focusing their efforts on me. I’ve been battle scarred by all the heavy bashing and trolling. I’ve learned how to choose to ignore).” (Yas D. Ocampo / MindaNews)