FALSE: Robredo, Banal romantically linked

At a glance:

• Claim: Vice President Leni Robredo and former Quezon City 3rd District Representative Jorge “Bolet” Banal are romantically linked.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Banal is the Liberal Party’s liaison officer to the Office of the Vice President, not Robredo’s lover.
• Why we fact checked this: This is a recurring rumor that Robredo has repeatedly denied.

Complete details:

A post on Facebook by user Lovell Paras Canceran says that Vice President Leni Robredo and former Quezon City 3rd District Representative Jorge “Bolet” Banal are romantically linked.

The post has had 674 reactions, 823 comments, and 118 shares since it was first uploaded on Thursday, November 19. Canceran has more than 24,000 followers.

This is false. Banal is the liaison officer between the Liberal Party (LP) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and not Robredo’s lover. This is also a recurring rumor that Robredo has repeatedly denied.

Banal was assigned to Robredo by the Liberal Party (LP) during the 2016 polls to advise her on political affairs and help her talk to politicians. It was one of the party’s ways of convincing Robredo to run for higher office, as she was reluctant at the time.

After Robredo won, Banal was assigned by the LP as the party’s permanent liaison to the OVP. This is part of his role as the LP’s vice chairperson of the national standing commission for political and electoral affairs.

Robredo denied this rumor in a Facebook post on Thursday, November 19. She called out Canceran for constantly spreading lies about her ever since she won the vice presidential seat. She said that Canceran often spread rumors that she was romantically involved with the men she was photographed with.

“Pero yung paulit-ulit na ginagamit, yung nagtratrabaho for me na assigned ng aming partido to handle my political needs. Siya yung kadalasan nag cocoordinate ng lahat na concerns with politicians and with local leaders. Pag ang lakad ko may halong engagement with politicians, kasama siya sa team.“

(But the person who is most often the subject of these rumors is someone who works for me, who was assigned by our party to handle my political needs. He is often the one who coordinates all concerns with politicians and with local leaders. When I have an event that involves engagement with politicians, he joins our team.)

Robredo said she has ignored this rumor because it isn’t true, but it was one of the first ones she confronted in her 2018 video debunking false claims about her.

On May 24, 2018, the Vice President shut down this rumor along with other rumors about men she was supposedly romantically linked to.

“Gusto ko ‘tong i-address head-on. Hindi totoo. Hindi totoo ‘yung lahat ng kuwento sa amin ni Cong Bolet,” she said. (I want to address this issue head-on. It’s not true. None of the stories about Cong Bolet and I are true.) – Vernise Tantuco/Rappler.com