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Publicist tagged as pro-Roxas influencer denies Thinking Pinoy's claims


Publicist Joyce Ramirez on Saturday hit back at Thinking Pinoy blogger Rey Joseph Nieto, who tagged her during a Senate inquiry as an "influencer" hired by Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II to trend the anti-Noynoy #NasaanAngPangulo topic that followed the 2015 Mamasapano tragedy.

In a statement sent to GMA News Online, Ramirez denied knowing Roxas personally, adding she never provided the former senator and Liberal Party standard-bearer with public relations services.

"All I can vouch for is the truth: I never met Mar Roxas. If we never met, then how can he hire or pay me? I have been working as a PR for 20 years now mostly for the private sector. I cannot lie and claim that I have worked for a certain personality when that clearly did not happen," Ramirez said.

"Only a fame whore and a social climber would invent such claims," she added.

The publicist said Nieto had presented merely "hearsay" evidence to support his claims against her.

Ramirez pointed out how Nieto was the one receiving compensation from the Philippine government as a "defender" of the Duterte administration.

"I have never worked for the DILG nor granted any government contract unlike RJ Nieto who is receiving a fee from the current government," she said.

Nieto was contracted by the Department of Foreign Affairs as its social media consultant. He, however, said he had yet to receive his monthly salary of P12,000, as part of his six-month contract with the  agency.

"I believe that he is doing his job based on what his principals have tasked him to do as a mouthpiece and defender of the current administration. I also believe that whoever hired him at the DFA is preparing for the long term and that is why that paying principal needs to maintain a certain number of mouthpieces to protect and advance their own political interests using social media," Ramirez said.

Ramirez believes Nieto was using her to create discord among LP members by asserting that she had helped Roxas deflect blame to Aquino over the deadly Mamasapano clash in 2015.

Roxas had already denied the accusation.

"Their fight is none of my business and I will not allow it that I am used like this. I am not a party willing to perform in the circus they have created using tax payers' money," Ramirez said.

"I am not here to divide public perception, either. I can only speak for myself and my own experience because my name was maliciously dragged in a hearing in which I have no involvement of. I am neither a fan nor an arbiter of #FakeNews. I just find all of these distasteful, crass and a desperate attempt by someone to make himself look and feel relevant as well as favored by his principals. It is a futile kiss-ass move," she added.

Ramirez said she was determined to help traditional media from "being attacked irresponsibly by so-called bloggers and mouthpieces."

"I may not have enough power or influence to do so, but I would like to help my fellow media professionals from those who use "love of country" as a camouflage to spread havoc, discord and who uses the tactic "divide and conquer" via social media. Let us not fall victim into this mindless trap," she added.

'Evidence'

In response to Ramirez's counter-accusations, Nieto maintained he mentioned evidence to back up his claims in a blog post he posted on Thinking Pinoy back in February.

"I don't really mind her calling me names, because the name calling doesn't do anything towards refuting what's in that article. Her painting me black does not make her any whiter," he told GMA News Online.

Nieto cited two sources: his close fellow-blogger and former National Youth Commissioner Mike Acelebedo Lopez; and the woman maintaining the satirical social media account, Senyora Santibañez, who both clued him in on a certain publicist he later named as Ramirez.

The article included an excel file alleged given to him by a "political contact." The excel file supposedly came from a PR firm and was allegedly used in a sales presentation about #NasaanAngPangulo. — MDM, GMA News

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