Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday, Nov. 23, said that the lowly workers were the true victims of the prank online order from Metromart wherein P100,000 worth of goods--to be paid via cash on delivery or COD--were sent to her office.

While she thanked Metromart and their partner merchants for facilitating the return of the goods and for not charging them to the riders, Robredo still sent this reminder to scammers.

“Sana lang sa panahon ng matinding kagipitan, huwag n(an)g mag-isip ng mga panloloko at ‘yung mga maliliit na naman ‘yung mga nabibiktima (In times of crisis, let’s not think about deceiving others because it's the lowly who will again be victimized),” she said in a Facebook post.

Her spokesperson, lawyer Barry Gutierrez, tweeted on Monday, Nov. 22, about the multiple deliveries totaling P100,000 that were sent to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in New Manila, Quezon City.

The goods were a combination of alcoholic beverages, toys, and grocery items, he said.

READ: Robredo spokesman deplores fake online shopping deliveries to OVP

Robredo shared that she was “deep in meetings” in her office when the three delivery riders arrived with the goods named to her.

“When I was told about this, nag-alala ako sa delivery riders. Sobrang abala sa kanila. B(a)ka akala ng scammers ‘yung burden nasa amin. Hindi iniisip na kinakawawa nila yung riders saka yung mga shoppers nila na nabiktima (I worried about the delivery riders. It is such a hassle to them. Maybe the scammers thought that the burden was on us. They didn’t think about the riders and shoppers that they victimized),” she said.

The Vice President noted that it was even raining yesterday, so the riders got wet.

In an official statement that Robredo also posted, Metromart said they have a return policy agreement with their merchants to protect their shoppers and frontline delivery riders. All items have already been returned to the respective stores without charge to the riders.

Metromart added that they have increased their security and fraud detection measures against such incidents and that they are cooperating with the OVP in their investigation of the issue.

“We are calling on the public not to scam, prank, and waste the time of our delivery riders and shoppers who are working hard to support their families and are risking their lives to safely deliver groceries to Filipino homes during this pandemic,” the statement read.

Robredo also posted a photo of her and one of the delivery riders.