Fact checks on public officials

FALSE: Robredo did not give aid to Itogon evacuees

Rappler.com

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FALSE: Robredo did not give aid to Itogon evacuees
This claim is a rehash of what circulated in 2018, when a landslide occurred in Itogon after Typhoon Ompong. The Office of the Vice President provided aid for those affected by the typhoon and landslide in Itogon.
At a glance:
  • Claim: Vice President Leni Robredo visited Itogon, Benguet, without providing relief goods for evacuees.
  • Rating: FALSE
  • The facts: This false claim is a rehashed one, having originally circulated in 2018 when a landslide occurred in Itogon after Typhoon Ompong. The Office of the Vice President provided aid for those affected by the typhoon and landslide in Itogon.
  • Why we fact-checked this: This claim was sent by a Rappler reader for verification. Posts containing this claim were also flagged by Facebook Claim Check, a tool that detects potentially false content on the platform.
Complete details:

Multiple Facebook users reposted a screenshot of a post by “Igorot Nakedheel Goldlines,” falsely claiming that Vice President Leni Robredo did not provide relief goods for evacuees in Itogon, Benguet.

The screenshot of the post, which did not show the date the original message was posted, read, “‘Yung Vice President na bumisita sa lugar namin dito sa Itogon [na] nagdala ng maraming cameraman. [Wala] man [lang] dalang relief goods [para] sa mga [evacuees].”

(The Vice President, who visited our place here in Itogon with a lot of cameramen in tow, did not even bring any relief goods for the evacuees.)

FALSE POSTS Robredo did not give aid to Itogon evacuees

This claim was sent by a Rappler reader for verification. Posts containing this claim were also flagged by Facebook Claim Check, a tool that detects potentially false content on the platform.

The claim is false and rehashed, as this was first circulated in 2018, when a landslide occurred in Itogon due to Typhoon Ompong and killed dozens of people.

Reverse image search showed that both the photo of Robredo and the screenshot of the post were uploaded in 2018. Multiple accounts have been reposting the screenshot in November, with the earliest post made on November 16, according to Claim Check.

Robredo visited Itogon on September 28, 2018, as reported by ABS-CBN News and INQUIRER.net. In her interview with reporters then, Robredo said she met with evacuees and provided them with aid.

The team of Angat Buhay, her anti-poverty progam, also posted on September 26, 2018, saying they went to Itogon to provide 1,000 relief packs to those affected by Typhoon Ompong.

Robredo also addressed this false claim in a Facebook post on November 23, 2020, outlining their assistance to families and rescuers in the form of cash, supplies, and relief packs.

She also said that they were not accompanied by media, and that the media seen in the photo were those they encountered on the site of the landslide.

“‘Yung media na nakikita sa picture, nakasabay lang namin yan dun sa site ng landslide at marami yung andun para mag cover (hindi sa akin, pero sa landslide) ng mga rescuers na naghuhukay pa din pagpunta namin,” read Robredo’s post.

(The media seen in the picture, we just encountered them on the site of the landslide and many were there to cover – not me, but the landslide – the rescuers who were digging when we went there.)

Days before this claim was recirculated, Cagayan province suffered massive flooding due to the tail end of a cold front and Typhoon Ulysses, and Robredo’s team took the initiative to immediately coordinate with local officials and rescue teams on the ground. President Rodrigo Duterte then launched a tirade against Robredo laced with lies and threats, telling her not to “compete” with him.

Rappler also debunked posts claiming that Robredo donated chicharon to typhoon victims in San Mateo, Rizal, and that she did not bother to visit Typhoon Ulysses victims in Rodriguez, Rizal. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

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