MISSING CONTEXT: Robredo has no platform of government

At a glance:

• Claim: Presidential aspirant and Vice President Leni Robredo has no platform of government except that of personal interest. This is because she said in an interview that she was ready to run for president against Bongbong Marcos so that no Marcos could return to Malacañang.
• Rating: MISSING CONTEXT
• The facts: Robredo said in an interview that she did not want another Marcos to be back in Malacañang because of what happened during the Martial Law era. Since filing for candidacy, Robredo has spoken about her plans if she is elected president. 
• Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, the video that was uploaded on December 17 has 57,718 views on YouTube.

Complete details: 

A video uploaded on Youtube on December 17 by the channel “Edward Q. TV” had the following title: “LENI ROBREDO PINAGTATAWANAN SA KANYANG PLATAPORMA/BBM NAGINGIBABAW ANG GALING AT MALASAKIT.” (Leni Robredo is being laughed at for her platform/BBM is above her in skill and devotion.)

The voiceover in the 0:06 to 0:45 mark of the video claims that presidential aspirant Leni Robredo gave an interview wherein she said she was ready to go against former senator Bongbong Marcos just so that no Marcos could return to Malacañang. It also said that she has no goals or platform. 

As of writing, the video has 57,718 views on YouTube. 

This lacks context. 

In the September 19 episode of the “Biserbisyong Leni” radio show, Robredo did say that she would run for president only if she and Marcos were in the running. According to the transcript of the interview and a report on CNN Philippines, she said she did not want another Marcos to be back in Malacañang because of what happened during the Martial Law era. 

At the time, neither candidate had filed their certificates of candidacy, and Robredo was undecided on whether she would run. Robredo was asked during the radio show about her decision-making process, and she said that the most important factor to consider was whether her candidacy would contribute to preventing things the public didn’t want to happen – including a Marcos returning to Malacañang. 

Later, Robredo said that the future of the Philippines was what was most important to her, and that there were already indications of corruption at the height of the pandemic: “Napakadelikado sa bansa natin na magpatuloy pa ito. Alam natin, alam natin, Ka Ely ‘yung ginawa ni Marcos sa Pilipinas – at iyon [ay] hindi speculations. Nasa records na ‘yun ng history, may mga court decisions na, despite na grabe ‘yung fake news. Naka-record ‘yan, Ka Ely, sa history kung ano ‘yung ginawa ni Marcos sa bansa natin. Eh dapat pagtulung-tulungan natin na hindi na ‘yun, kasi kapag hinayaan natin na maulit-ulit, hindi tayo natuto sa kasaysayan.”

(It’s so dangerous for our country if this continues. We know, we know, Ka Ely, what Marcos did to the Philippines –and those aren’t just speculations. They’re in the records of history, there are court decisions despite the fake news. There are records, Ka Ely, in history, of what Marcos did to our country. We should help each other so that it doesn’t happen again, because if we let it happen again, we wouldn’t have learned from history.)

Bongbong Marcos is the son of the dictator and former president Ferdinand Marcos. Ferdinand was in office from 1965 to 1986, during which he imposed Martial Law, a period in Philippine history that was rife with human rights violations and plunged the country into debt. After Marcos was ousted, there have been efforts to hold the Marcos family accountable for their abuse of power, which have resulted in a mix of victories and losses on all sides. 

Since filing for candidacy on October 7, Robredo has spoken about her plans if she is elected president, including a job recovery plan, a reform of ​​the country’s political party system, and a plan to help the country recover from COVID-19, among others. – Antonio Manaytay/Rappler.com

Antonio Manaytay is an Aries Rufo Fellowship awardee. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s internship program here.

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