Robredo belies 'credit grabbing' on Odette donations

Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday alerted social media users to fake reports claiming that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) took credit for the donations given to those affected by Typhoon Odette.

On Facebook, Robredo attached a fake post claiming that Robredo and her team took a photo beside the donations of political rivals, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.

"Ito pala yong construction material na dinonate ni bbm at sarah,tapos nagpunta si leni nilagyan ng mga pink tapos nagpa picture," read the post.

(These are the construction materials donated by BBM and Sara then Leni went there and put pink on it and took a photo opportunity.)

But Robredo clarified that based on their real post, the OVP thanked their partners for providing shelter repair kits to Odette victims.

"FAKE NEWS ALERT! Walang katotohanan ang kumakalat na social media post na nagsasabing nag credit grab tayo ng mga donasyon para sa mga nasalanta ng Bagyong #OdettePH," Robredo wrote.

(There is no truth on the viral social media post which claims that we are credit grabbing some donations for Odette victims.)

She added that it was the OVP's partners that brought the repair kits to Surigao City where the turnover occurred.

Further, Robredo said the fake post was meant to taint the image of the OVP, adding that the public should be vigilant regarding posts being made online.

"Malinaw na intensyon ng fake news na ito na siraan ang OVP. Ngunit sa paggawa rin nito, kasabay nitong pinawawalang-halaga ang tulong ng mga Pilipinong nag ambag para maibaba ang mga kinakailangang assistance na ito," she said.

(The intention behind the post is clear and it is to discredit the OVP. But also by doing this fake post, it also renders worthless the help offered by other Filipinos to those needing assistance.)

Well-spent donation money

Through the OVP's donation drive, Robredo said they also allocated P10 million for housing projects in Dinagat Islands, which was badly hit by Typhoon Odette.

"Sa Dinagat Islands mas malaki, mas kulang yung tulong na dumadating doon tapos saka grabe talaga yung destruction so nagdecide tayo sa Dinagat Islands na hindi lang shelter ang accept natin pero pabahay mismo pareho nung ginawa  natin sa Marawi," she said.

(For Dinagat Islands we allocated more funds, it receives less help, but the destruction there was  to much. We are not only giving shelter kits but also housing like what we did in Marawi.)

Aside from this, Robredo said their donation drive also allocated P3,738,000 for Bohol, P3,600,000 for Negros Oriental and P3,575,000 for Southern Leyte.

Robredo thanked those who helped in their donation drive to assist uplift the lives of Typhoon Odette victims.

"Kaya ko ito nireport, hindi galing sa opisina namin, kami lang nag-donation drive kami lang nag-facilitate pero galing sa inyong lahat na nagpadala ng tulong through Tanging Yaman Corporation. Gusto ko lang ipakita kapag maayos ang paghawak ng pera ang daming pakinabang," said Robredo.

(I reported this because these funds are not from the OVP, we only facilitated the donation drive but the money came from all of you through th Tanging Yaman Corporation. I wanted to show you that responsible spending of the donated money could help a lot of people.) —Consuelo Marquez/KG/LBG, GMA News