Former vice president and Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo debunked claims that she rides commuter buses with security personnel by posting a video taken by Sangguniang Kabataan Chairperson Marlon Casilao.
On March 13, the city chief shared a video of herself sitting on a commuter bus bound for Metro Manila, with no other bodyguards or security personnel visible in the background.
She also appeared to be working, holding documents in her hand.
“Sagot sa fake news ng mga tao na walang kilalang politiko na nag-bu-bus na walang bodyguard na kasama,” Robredo wrote, adding a laughing emoji.
“Post po ito ni SK [Sangguniang Kabataan] Chair Marlon Casilao na nasa terminal din para ihatid ang nanay niya na papunta sa Manila,” she added, referring to another official of Naga City.
“Pasensya na sa mga pasahero na nakasama sa video,” Robredo said.
Casilao previously posted the video on his Facebook account, saying it was a shame Robredo was not on the same trip as his mother.
“Sayang lang at hindi kayo nagkasabay ni mama sa bus!” he captioned the post.
“Grabe ka talaga, mayor, work ka pa din kahit nasa loob na ng bus. Ingat din po sa biyahe!” the in-video textead.
Robredo’s post comes amid social media posts claiming that images of her working on a bus were “doctored” and merely a “photoshoot.”
A report from VERA Files said that a “Facebook page, whose posts are mostly supportive of Vice President Sara Duterte,” claimed that a “photoshoot” was taking place inside a bus.
“MAY PHOTOSHOOT PALA! Kaya Sumakay ng Bus,” the page reportedly said.
Harry Roque, former spokesperson for President Rodrigo Duterte, was also among those who doubted the image’s authenticity.
“Maniniwala sana ako kung kuha ng netizens or ng ordinaryong pasahero. Magpakatotoo naman tayo, iyun ang gusto ng mga tao,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Roque was responding to a post by a radio station reporting that Naga City Executive Assistant Ray-An Rentoy said Robredo had appointments at several government offices.
“No rest before the road. And still hard at work just before leaving for [Manila]. Ingat po, yorme,” Rentoy wrote on March 12.
Raffy Magno, executive director of the Angat Buhay organization, also said it has always been Robredo’s habit to ride commuter buses even when she was still vice president.
“Moments like these were never meant to be symbolic. They were simply how she lived,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
Magno also shared a 2012 interview with Robredo, in which she referenced her late husband, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, saying he wanted to “keep himself grounded.”
“Parati niya sinasabi sa akin na mahirap masanay kasi baka magustuhan. ‘Pag nagustuhan, hahanap-hanapin,” Leni said before.
