President Rodrigo Duterte has not declared support for the presidential candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo, contrary to what a misleading TikTok video has implied after a group supporting the president endorsed her.
A faction of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) headed by former National Commission for Muslim Filipinos commisioner Abubakar Mangelen has endorsed Robredo’s candidacy, several news outlets reported April 25.
A resolution dated April 19 containing the endorsement, however, does not say Duterte shares the same view. The president to date has not endorsed any presidential candidate.
The 21-second clip posted by @fafavinz89 on April 25 excerpted television anchor Cheryl Cosim’s spiel to a report in One PH’s news program One Balita Pilipinas about Robredo’s campaign activities. The video had a sticker text on top suggesting that the endorsement was backed by Duterte:
Ginagalaw na ni PRRD ang baso (PRRD is now making his move).
PRRD stands for President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
A livestream video from One PH’s YouTube channel shows Cosim delivering the introduction at the 6:25 mark:
Si Vice President Leni Robredo na ang sinusuportahan ng Partido Federal ng Pilipinas na sumusuporta kay Pangulong Duterte at nauna nang nag-endorso kay Yorme Isko Moreno. Kasunod ‘yan ng record-breaking campaign rally na isinagawa kasabay ng kaarawan ni Robredo noong Sabado (Vice President Leni Robredo is now backed by Partido Federal ng Pilipinas which supports President Duterte and has previously endorsed Mayor Isko Moreno. This comes after the record-breaking campaign rally that was held on Robredo’s birthday last Saturday).
It was not the entire PFP but only a breakaway faction led by Mangelen, its former chairman, that endorsed Robredo. Presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the chairman and standard bearer of the PFP for the May polls.
Mangelen, who said he is PFP’s “duly elected chairman” filed in the Commission on Elections a disqualification case against Marcos last December, claiming that he was ousted from the party without due process and that many party officials and members were not consulted on PFP’s endorsement of Marcos. Mangelen filed a motion for reconsideration after the Comelec junked the petition in February.
PFP Secretary General Thompson Lantion said that Mangelen was unseated as chairman at a party convention last Sept. 18, and the position “was left vacant for Marcos.” Marcos joined the party and assumed the chairmanship on Oct. 5, a day before he filed his certificate of candidacy.
The Mangelen-led faction previously supported the candidacy of Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno before switching to Robredo.
PFP was founded in 2018 by members of the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte National Executive Committee which supported Duterte’s campaign in 2016 and former members of PDP-Laban, of which one wing has Duterte as chairperson.
The TikTok video received 886,700 views, 39,400 likes, 2,633 comments and 869 shares as of writing. The same user also posted a similar clip on Facebook where it garnered 11,000 views, 837 reactions, 48 comments and 288 shares. (RC)