Vice President Leni Robredo and reelectionist Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte have not joined forces, contrary to a claim made by AnaKalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor.
Belmonte and her party Serbisyo sa Bayan have not endorsed any presidential candidate. She previously said a presidential endorsement “might or might never happen.”
She was also present when Robredo and other presidential candidates Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno, Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Manny Pacquiao paid her courtesy calls.
Belmonte has, however, endorsed vice presidential bet Sen. Vicente Sotto III, father of her running mate, reelectionist Vice Mayor Gian Sotto. Sotto is running with Lacson.
Defensor, who is also vying for the Quezon City mayoralty, made the wrong claim of a Robredo-Belmonte alliance in an interview posted April 9 by a Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) reporter. He said at the 4:06 mark:
Doon sa pagsasanib-pwersa ni Vice President Leni and si Mayor Joy, wala naman akong nakikitang — una, nirerespeto ko ‘yan. In fact, noon pa dapat niya (Belmonte) ginawa ‘yan (With regard to the alliance of Vice President Leni and Mayor Joy, I don’t see any — first of all, I respect that. In fact, she (Belmonte) should have done that sooner).
Defensor and his party Malayang QC are allied with presidential bet Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The video of the SMNI interview received over 16,000 views and nearly 3,000 reactions on Facebook as of writing. Meanwhile, various versions of social media cards bearing the false claim were posted on Defensor’s Facebook page and his supporters’ accounts.
Other news organizations have reported on Defensor’s quote, including Manila Bulletin and the Manila Standard.
Quezon City had an estimated 1.33 million registered voters in 2019, one of the largest voting populations in the country. (RP)