News Roundup 11 April 2022
Apr 11, 2022 • 5 min Read
Robredo camp slams sex tape allegations involving daughter, urges supporters to ‘hold the line’ | PHILSTAR.COM – The Office of the Vice President slammed rumors of an alleged sex video involving one of the daughters of Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo, saying it was mulling legal action over the circulating screenshots. This comes after screenshots of Google search result links to the supposedly leaked sex video began circulating around social media, primarily among account supporting the campaign of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late ousted dictator who is also running for president. “This is a malicious fabrication and we have reported it to the platforms concerned to have it taken down. Our lawyers are studying our options for legal action,” Robredo’s spokesperson, lawyer Barry Guttierez, said in a statement sent to media Monday afternoon. “The deeper goal of this tactic is for us to be overwhelmed with frustration and lose our cool on social media. For us to quarrel with people so that we are not able to convert.” In response to the claims, Robredo also wrote on Twitter: “[The] best antidote to fake news is the truth. Let us not lose focus. Let us continue doing good. This is how I survived the last six years.” The vice president, the de facto leader of the opposition, has long been the target of disinformation by pro-administration accounts on social media since she was elected to her current post in 2016 when she defeated Marcos. In past months, Robredo has been on the receiving end of fake news created by accounts supporting Marcos’ campaign. This is also not the first time the Vice President’s daughters were targeted by fake news. Earlier in January, pro-administration bloggers and influencers made up the claim that one of Robredo’s daughters allegedly jumped quarantine and went home directly after arriving in Manila from New York City. “It takes a special kind of evil to resort to misogynistic attacks against the kids. Is this the kind of politics we want for our children?” human rights lawyer and senatorial candidate Chel Diokno also said in a tweet earlier that day. “We call on Google to remove these links immediately and to pro-actively prevent any more links containing the same abhorrent misogynostic attacks to be published. Google should not allow itself to be used for crimes against women.”
Philippines records 1,906 COVID-19 cases from April 4 to 10 | PHILSTAR.COM – The Philippines posted 1,906 new COVID-19 infections from April 4 to 10, 29% lower than a week earlier, the Department of Health said Monday. The average was 272 additional cases per day, the DOH said in a bulletin. Since the pandemic began in 2020, the country has registered over 3.68 million coronavirus cases. No new severe and critical cases were recorded last week. However, there are currently 707 severe and critical admissions. According to the DOH, 542 of 2,951 intensive care unit (ICU) beds have been used as of April 10, while 4,045 out of 24,689 non-ICU beds have been utilized. Deaths increased by 428 to 59,769. Of the additional deaths, 192 occurred this year, 164 happened in 2021, and 72 in 2020. Overseas voting for May 9 polls off to a bad start | INQUIRER.NET – Absentee voting for Filipinos overseas was off to a bad start, described as “chaotic and disorganized” on the first day on Sunday in Hong Kong and delayed in North America as the ballots and other election paraphernalia from Manila got stalled in transit in Alaska. A record 1,697,215 registered overseas absentee voters began voting for national candidates on April 10 until Election Day on May 9. Overseas voters may only vote for president, vice president, 12 senators, and a party list group. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the start of the monthlong overseas absentee voting in five Philippine foreign posts was delayed due to difficulties in shipping election materials. Overseas voting did not start as scheduled on April 10 in the Philippine embassies in Wellington, New Zealand; Islamabad, Pakistan, and Dili, Timor-Leste, as well as in the Philippine consulates general in Milan, Italy and in New York. “Due to logistical difficulties encountered in the shipment of the election materials, the said posts will start overseas voting at a later date,” Comelec announced on Sunday. The start of overseas voting in the Philippine consulate general in Shanghai, China, was also suspended while the city is under a strict COVID-19 lockdown. According to Comelec, half of the country’s 92 foreign posts would use an automated elections system. A total 1,023,637 overseas absentee voters will vote in-person; 556,760 voters will mail their ballot, while 116,818 voters may choose either option.
Diokno calls on Google to remove ‘malicious links’ vs Robredo’s daughter | Manila Bulletin – Senatorial aspirant Jose Manuel ‘Chel’ Diokno on Monday called on Google to remove malicious links against the daughter of presidential bet Vice President Leni Robred as he described these as a “crime against women” amid the election season. In a Twitter post, Diokno said posting malicious links is a “desperate” move against Robredo, who continues her gain in presidential surveys as well as in campaign rallies. He was specifically reacting to several website links purportedly containing supposed explicit photos of Robredo’s eldest daughter Jessica Marie, nicknamed Aika. “Ito ang latest script ng kabila (This is the latest script of the opponents, targeting the daughters of VP Leni ),” he said. Diokno even said “it takes a special kind of evil” for perpetrators of this activity “to resort to misogynistic attacks against the kids.” “Ito ba ang uri ng pulitika na gusto natin para sa ating mga anak? (Is this the kind of politics we want for our children),” he added. The aspiring lawmaker also appealed to Google “to pro-actively prevent any more links containing the same abhorrent misogynistic attacks to be published.” “Google should not allow itself to be used for crimes against women,” he added.
