Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Saturday, July 11, denied social media posts claiming the Office of the Ombudsman had ordered his preventive suspension.
Screengrab from Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto's social media post debunking a circulating claim that the Office of the Ombudsman had issued a preventive suspension order against him. (Screengrab from Mayor Vico Sotto/Facebook)
He said the reports were part of "new fake news operations," dismissing claims he was suspended for not giving the P1,500 allowance to City Hall employees during the Araw ng Pasig celebration.
“New fake news operations alert. Sabi nga, kung walang galit sayo, wala ka sigurong ginagawang mahalaga... Very likely that these fake news propaganda are funded by [your guess is as good as mine!] (New fake news operations alert. As the saying goes, if no one is upset with you, you're probably not doing anything important... Very likely that these fake news propaganda are funded by [your guess is as good as mine!]),” he said.
“Eto na naman sila. Mga page na post post muna ng positive... tapos maya-maya nagkakalat na ng kasinungalingan (Here they go again. These pages post positive content at first, then later start spreading lies),” he added.
The mayor also said that he had long been receiving reports that these Facebook pages were being bought.
He urged the public to report the fake social media posts and help raise awareness.