By Raymund Antonio
Vice President Leni Robredo slammed fake news peddlers on social media for spreading malicious and misleading information about her amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Vice-President Leni Robredo
(Mark Balmores / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Irked by the Facebook pages claiming affiliation with her office, Robredo said they were not hiring vehicles for the free shuttle service for frontline health workers. “This is a malicious Facebook entry which intends to put our office in a bad light,” the vice president said on her personal Facebook page. Two fake Facebook posts circulated that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was in need of 300 transport vans to be paid for a daily rent of P3,500 in a “weekly pay-out” basis. The vice president belied the posts and said the bus ride being offered by her office was in partnership with the private sector to address the lack of public transport due to the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. “The free shuttle service that we will be offering to medical frontliners is through the kindness and generosity of private organizations, at no cost to the government,” she said. The pilot run of OVP’s free shuttle service for health workers and frontliners began on Wednesday, with six routes passing major hospitals in Metro Manila. The trips have starting point at 6 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. while afternoon pick-ups have yet to be announced. “We are receiving a lot of requests for additional routes, changes in schedule, etc. After we have collated all reports from the ground, we will make all the necessary adjustments,” she wrote in a separate post. Robredo urged the public to report those who spread fake news to hold them accountable. On her radio show, the vice president appealed that the funds being allocated for social media trolls to attack her should be used to buy personal protective equipment for COVID-19 frontiners. “I always tell them that the funds they spend for trolls should instead be used to provide assistance for those in need. They should buy protective gear for our frontliners,” Robredo said. READ MORE: VP’s office to provide free shuttle service, PPEs to health workers
Vice-President Leni Robredo(Mark Balmores / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) Irked by the Facebook pages claiming affiliation with her office, Robredo said they were not hiring vehicles for the free shuttle service for frontline health workers. “This is a malicious Facebook entry which intends to put our office in a bad light,” the vice president said on her personal Facebook page. Two fake Facebook posts circulated that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was in need of 300 transport vans to be paid for a daily rent of P3,500 in a “weekly pay-out” basis. The vice president belied the posts and said the bus ride being offered by her office was in partnership with the private sector to address the lack of public transport due to the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine. “The free shuttle service that we will be offering to medical frontliners is through the kindness and generosity of private organizations, at no cost to the government,” she said. The pilot run of OVP’s free shuttle service for health workers and frontliners began on Wednesday, with six routes passing major hospitals in Metro Manila. The trips have starting point at 6 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. while afternoon pick-ups have yet to be announced. “We are receiving a lot of requests for additional routes, changes in schedule, etc. After we have collated all reports from the ground, we will make all the necessary adjustments,” she wrote in a separate post. Robredo urged the public to report those who spread fake news to hold them accountable. On her radio show, the vice president appealed that the funds being allocated for social media trolls to attack her should be used to buy personal protective equipment for COVID-19 frontiners. “I always tell them that the funds they spend for trolls should instead be used to provide assistance for those in need. They should buy protective gear for our frontliners,” Robredo said. READ MORE: VP’s office to provide free shuttle service, PPEs to health workers