Leni calls for NBI probe on ‘fake news’

MANILA, Philippines  — Vice President Leni Robredo said yesterday she asked the Department of Justice (DOJ), particularly the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), to investigate the persons behind the “fake news” which claimed she distributed spoiled meals to medical frontliners in Quezon City.

In an interview with CNN-Philippines yesterday, Robredo said she would tap a private lawyer and a group outside the Office of the Vice President to collate evidence and file charges against those who posted the false information on social media.

“We already wrote NBI and DOJ requesting for a formal investigation. I have been very reluctant in the past to file a case because I have strongly advocated for the decriminalization of libel and cyberlibel. Because of what’s happening during the pandemic, I think these people have to be made accountable,” she said.

The Diliman Doctors Hospital, the medical facility mentioned in the social media post, has itself denied the report.

It said Robredo’s office on three occasions gave food donations and “none of which have been found to be spoiled.”