'This is fake news': Robredo calls out report claiming she lost over 21,000 votes

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday has called out a report quoting an insider claiming that she was down by over 21,000 votes in the ongoing poll recount by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.

“This is fake news,” Robredo said on Twitter referring to a tweet from The STAR saying that her lead over former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. went down by over 21,000 as the process hits its fourth week.

“[This is] propaganda meant to condition the minds of the public,” the vice president added in a May 3 Twitter post.

This is fake news. Propaganda meant to condition the mind of the public. 2 weeks ago,   PR stunt was we already lost 5,000 votes. Both are fake. If you really won the elections, why the need for fake news? https://t.co/9SdFCffsdF

— Leni Robredo (@lenirobredo) May 3, 2018

The STAR quoted an insider who said that the margin between Robredo and Marcos has been narrowed to 242,000, from the 263,473 in the 2016 national elections tally.

It also said that Robredo continues to lose votes due to the 50-percent threshold ruling applied by the PET. The threshold ruling means that only ballots where at least half of the oval beside a candidate's name is shaded will be counted.

The unnamed source added that there are also votes for Robredo that the tribunal deemed as “unacceptable” under its rules. No official update has been announced yet by the PET since the recount started on April 2.

The said report was also carried out by other news agencies.

The vice president has already appealed the tribunal’s decision on the 50-percent threshold, asking it to revert to the 25-percent threshold rule used in the 2016 elections. The camp of Marcos and the Commission on Elections were both ordered to submit their comment on Robredo’s motion for reconsideration.

“Two weeks ago, [the] PR stunt was we already lost 5,000 votes. Both are fake. If you really won the elections why the need for fake news?” Robredo added.

READ: ‘Bring it on’: Leni challenges fake news purveyors

The PET has already reminded both the Robredo and Marcos camps to observe its rules on sub-judice that prohibits the parties from discussing a case that is pending in court.

Last week, both parties submitted their compliance with the tribunal’s show cause order on why they should not be cited in contempt by the court.

Marcos, for his part, said that his legal counsels have “repeatedly requested” the tribunal’s Adhoc Revision Committee to “issue media advisories in connection with the ongoing proceedings so that they will not be forced to grant any interview in order to clarify the developments in this election protest.”