CLAIM: Former vice president Leni Robredo wore a “see-through” dress when she supposedly visited the Middle East region.
A Twitter user claimed that the Angat Buhay NGO chair, when she was still in the Office of the Vice President, went to the region in a dress that exposed her knees.
“Panay puna [niyo] sa pagsuot ng barong ni PBBM… pinuna [niyo] ba suot ng Ina [niyo] naka-see through nung nagpunta [siya] sa Middle East na very conservative country??…” she wrote with a thinking face emoji.
“PBBM” is the initials of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
RATING: Claims of Robredo wearing a “see-through” in the Middle East region are false.
Facts
The pictures of Robredo wearing the dress are part of her Facebook post uploaded on Sept. 25, 2018. These were taken during the commemoration of the 88th National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Glad to join His Excellency Dr. Abdullah N.A. Al Bussairy, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Philippines, in celebrating the 88th National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Shangri-La at the Fort,” she said.
Shangri-La The Fort is a five-star hotel in Bonifacio Global City at Taguig City.
It is nowhere in the Middle East region.
This was also pointed out by some Twitter users who saw the false post claiming Robredo wore the outfit while on a supposed Middle East visit.
Why it matters
The circulating false claim is recycled and was similarly shared by former broadcaster Jay Sonza in 2019.
“Please don’t get me wrong. I am just asking, if I may. Ito ba ang tamang pananamit ng isang pinuno ng bansa sa isang state affair sa Middle East?” he wrote on Facebook before.
“Is this the proper dress when meeting a head of state? I just wanna know since some of you questioned Mr. Duterte’s wardrobe in Russia,” Sonza added.
FactRackers, a fact-checking initiative of journalism students of UP Diliman, already tagged it as “false” before.
Tsek.ph, another fact-checking initiative for the 2022 elections, said that Robredo was the “biggest victim” of disinformation while her election rival, Marcos, “benefited most from positive but misleading posts on social media.”
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This story is part of the Philippine Fact-check Incubator, an Internews initiative to build the fact-checking capacity of news organizations in the Philippines and encourage participation in global fact-checking efforts.
Interaksyon is part of #FactsFirstPH, a multi-sectoral initiative promoting truth in public space and demanding accountability for falsehoods. For those interested to join the initiative, email [email protected]
Interaksyon is also a founding partner of Tsek.ph, a collaborative fact-checking project for the 2022 Philippine elections. It is an initiative of academe, civil society groups and media to counter disinformation and provide the public with verified information.
