A video showing presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo meeting with Commission on Elections spokesperson James Jimenez was taken during the briefing of the Comelec-hosted debate on April 3. All presidential candidates were present in the debate except for Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Facebook page Palerista Proj posted the misleading video on April 20 with the caption “Focus naba sa dayaan (Is the focus on cheating),” insinuating that Robredo was meeting the Comelec official to rig the election.
At 1:24 mark the video creator said:
Allowed po ba yan sa batas na kung kailan malapit na ang election saka sila magmimeeting ng ganyan (Is this allowed by the law? When the election day is nearing, they are meeting with election officials)?
The video identified Jimenez while slowly cropping the other presidential aspirants sitting on Robredo’s right, including Faisal Mangondato, Jose Montemayor Jr., Leody de Guzman and Norberto Gonzales. A reverse image search shows the photo was from VP Leni’s Media Bureau taken at Sofitel’s Harbor Garden Tent in Pasay City.
The video of the briefing is also posted on Comelec’s official Twitter account showing that Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, Ernesto Abella, and senators Manny Pacquiao and Ping Lacson were also present.
The video misleadingly implied that Aika Robredo’s tweet “Focus tayo (Let’s focus)” on April 17 bearing the same photo suggests a plot between Robredo and Comelec. Aika Robredo is the eldest daughter of the vice president.
At 0:22 mark, the video creator said:
Usap-usapan ngayon sa social media ang post ng isang anak ni VP Leni na si Aika Robredo na focus tayo. Wala pong problema sa ganiyang caption. Ang problema lamang ay yung nasa larawan ay si James Jimenez at ang kaniyang ina na si VP Leni (The talk of social media is the post of VP Leni’s daughter Aika Robredo with the caption “Focus tayo.” There is no problem in the caption. The only problem is that the people in the picture are James Jimenez and her mother VP Leni).
Marcos was absent in the two presidential debates sponsored by the Comelec.
As of April 21, the clip has reached 381,000 views and has been shared 21,000 times. (KC)