PCOO official says VP Robredo a ‘purveyor of fake news’

Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy on Tuesday accused Vice President Leni Robredo of being a “purveyor of fake news” for supposedly painting a "gloomy picture" of the country.

At the Senate committee hearing on fake news, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary for new media Lorraine Badoy dismissed insinuations that “misleading” information come from supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The Vice President is one of the primary purveyors of fake news and the President may be an even bigger victim than she is,” Badoy said.

“For instance, she just said recently — she paints a gloomy picture of the country at a time in history where all important numbers are looking up,” she added.

The Office of the Vice President has yet to issue a reaction to Badoy's accusation.

Blogger Tonyo Cruz then asked whether Badoy’s accusation is her personal claim or that of the PCOO.

Roby Alampay, editor-in-chief of BusinessWorld, also asked the same of Badoy, as he pointed out public officials cannot invoke their private positions.

Badoy clarified that her accusation was just her “personal opinion.”

In an earlier exchange during the hearing, Senator Manny Pacquiao confronted Badoy and asked her to apologize for her Facebook post during the May 2016 elections campaign period.

The Facebook post was about the house of Pacquiao's supposed mistress, located in the same subdivision where Badoy lives.

It turned out that the house belonged to a member of Pacquiao's staff.

“That’s a fake news. What you did is fake news," Pacquiao told Badoy.

Pacquiao asked Badoy to take down the post, which the senator said was still up at the time of the Senate hearing.

The Communications official apologized to Pacquiao, saying blogging has taught her to be compassionate, decent, and fair. —ALG, GMA News