Robredo debunks troll's claims, links page to local politician

MANILA, Philippines — Former Vice President and incumbent Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo on Saturday dismissed claims made by a social media troll, alleging that the person behind the account is being paid by a local politician.

This comes after a Facebook user, identified as “Niko Perez,” tagged Robredo as a “liar” for supposedly keeping her Manila trips secret, adding that the mayor has allegedly been in Manila weekly. The post was taken down shortly after publishing on Wednesday.

“This troll started as soon as I decided to run for Mayor of Naga. The name used is an assumed name. Someone else used to handle it. It’s different now. Reports say a local politician is paying for it,” Robredo said in a social media post.

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She continued: “It became very obvious who was behind it because when that politician had another rival, the page attacked that person instead. Now it’s targeting me again because we’re inspecting substandard work.”

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Robredo also noted that she doesn’t usually respond to trolls, calling such a “waste of time” and undeserving of attention, but an individual who she “holds in very high esteem” asked her to address the claims.

READ: Comelec OKs Robredo plea to sync plebiscite with BSKE

The former vice president then answered the claims of the troll.

“The troll apparently posted this last Wednesday. I was supposed to attend a League of Mayors meeting in Cebu. It would have been my first time attending because Mayor Francis Zamora had asked me to be present when they appointed me as adviser for intergovernmental affairs. That Wednesday, I was at the office from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. I left at 9 a.m. for the airport, but my flight was canceled, so I returned to the office after lunch and stayed there the rest of the day and throughout Thursday,” she detailed.

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Robredo continued: “I took the bus to Manila Thursday evening to attend meetings set with QC (Quezon City) government and Comelec (Commission on Election) yesterday, Friday.”

Then, Robredo denied going to Manila weekly.

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“I don’t go to Manila every week. My schedule is to travel there only once a month, and I usually go on a Thursday or Friday so I can spend Saturday with my daughters, two of whom live in Manila. I return to Naga on Sunday. This is easy to verify because I post daily updates about my activities,” Robredo pressed.

She added that her monthly visits to Manila are also to ask for help to national government agencies and private partners for local projects, which has thus far yielded P1 billion in financial aid.

Moreover, she clarified that the trips to Manila had become more frequent due to meetings called by agencies or invitations from Naga residents who get married in Manila.

READ: Liberal Party still hoping for a Leni Robredo 2028 presidential bid

Robredo also stressed that her travel expenses have never been deducted from the local government budget.

“Even when my trips are official, I have NEVER charged my travel expenses to the city government. In fact, we are preparing a report in response to a request to disclose the travel expenses of all elected city officials,” she said.

The mayor added that even her gasoline expenses are not from the local government budget, and instead of a government-owned vehicle, she uses a sport utility vehicle her daughter, Aika Robredo, bought in 2012. /das

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