Senatorial bet Chel Diokno’s credentials are not fabricated, contrary to social media personality Jam Magno’s tweet falsely suggesting that they are.
In a tweet on May 4, Magno (@ItsJamMagno) said:
I will always choose Robin Padilla over Chel Diokno. Syempre dun tayo sa gwapo, wag na tayo mag-plastikan. At siyempre dun din ako sa may puso para sa bansa at hindi gawa-gawa yung credentials (Of course we are for those who are good-looking, let's be real. Also, I am for those who love this country and whose credentials are not fabricated).
Diokno, who’s running under the Robredo-Pangilinan slate, is a lawyer admitted to the Illinois, USA Bar in 1986 and the Philippine Bar in 1988. He has been the chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group since 2003 and is the founding dean of De La Salle University College of Law.
Vote Pilipinas, the official voter information campaign partner of the Commission on Elections, also lists these credentials. The official Facebook and Twitter accounts of Diokno accurately reflect the same information.
Meanwhile, senatorial aspirant Robin Padilla finished BS Criminology at the Philippine College of Criminology “after serving prison time,” according to Vote Pilipinas. He was convicted of illegal possession of firearms in 1994. Three years later, he was granted conditional pardon by then president Fidel V. Ramos. In 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte granted Padilla absolute pardon, restoring his civil and political rights.
For work experience, Padilla served as chairperson of the Strategic Communications Committee of the Philippine Army Multi-Sectoral Advisory Board from 2020 to 2021. He is an actor, writer, producer and director.
The profile information of all candidates for national posts is posted on Vote Pilipinas, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information partner of Comelec.
Magno’s original Twitter account (@thejammagno) has been suspended by Twitter in January for violating its rules. The tweet received 768 likes, 74 retweets, and 1,210 quote tweets, as of writing. (KC)