Purveyors of fake news should instead help in her coronavirus response initiatives than spreading disinformation about her on social media, Presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo said on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
In a live video on her Facebook page, Robredo shot back at those behind the fake news that her second daughter Tricia violated quarantine protocols after she tested positive for COVID-19.
“Sa akin, wala na iyon pero sana naman sa panahon na ganito, magkaisa tayo (For me, that’s gone but I hope in a time like this, let us unite),” she said.
“Kahit hindi nyo ako gusto, kahit iba gusto nyo, wala naman kaso iyon. Basta sa pagtulong sa kababayan natin, magtulong tulong tayo kasi pare-pareho naman iyon gusto natin, di ba (Even if you don’t like me, even if you like another, there’s no issue. But when it comes to helping our fellowmen, let us help one another because that’s what we all want, right),” Robredo added.
According to certain posts circulating on social media, one of which was that of former broadcaster Jay Sonza, Tricia supposedly skipped quarantine and instead went home.
“Sabi mo Madam, dapat walang palakasan. Bakit iyong anak mong dumating derecho sa bahay, hindi dumaan sa Quarantine Protocol (You said Madam, there should be no favors. Why did your daughter who just arrived went home straight, she did not go through Quarantine Protocol)?” Sonza asked in a Facebook post.
But the Vice President denied such claims and tagged it as fake news and a criminal act. She then asked those behind the false information to instead join her Bayanihan E-Konsulta telemedicine service as volunteers.
READ: Robredo renews call for volunteer doctors to join telemedicine service
“Kasi kailangan po namin ng volunteers pero hindi po pwede magsinungaling, iyong mga kababayan natin ang nakataya (It is because we need volunteers but lying is not allowed, our countrymen are at risk),” she said.
Robredo went on Facebook live to give updates on her office’s response to the current COVID-19 surge, including the Bayanihan E-Konsulta and the first day of the Swab Cab operations in Quezon City.
The Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) free teleconsultation platform noted a spike in COVID-19 cases as it reached the limit of 400 cases just on Wednesday morning.
The Swab Cab tested 813 individuals wherein 373 tested positive. That is more than a 40 percent positivity rate.
READ: Robredo brings back free mobile antigen testing as COVID-19 cases surge
On Wednesday, the country logged 10,775 new cases with a positivity rate of 31.7 percent.
The new total is the highest since October 10 last year while the positivity rate was a record high.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a positivity rate of less than five percent.