Presidential candidate Norberto Gonzales offered no proof when he claimed that mass support for presidential aspirant Leni Robredo in her campaign rallies was organized by communists.
In a Twitter quote card posted on May 7 by user Team Norberto Gonzales, he said:
I don't know if the Vice President understands this, yung mass support ni Leni is already controlled by the communists (the mass support of Leni is already controlled by the communists).
He claimed this during an interview with The Manila Times on May 3.
Robredo has refuted forging alliance with any communist group, as well as claims tying her to Communist Party of the Philippines founder Joma Sison. Similarly, Sison denied advising the presidential candidate.
A similar claim by Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy and first alleged by Cavite Rep. Boying Remulla on Robredo-communist link claim, has been fact checked by FactRakers.
Badoy is facing complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman for red-tagging Robredo supporters and campaign volunteers.
In the same interview, the former national security adviser also claimed that Robredo was having a hard time getting the support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
He said at the 7:38 mark:
The Armed Forces, siguro nahihirapan sila diyan They’re trying to gather retired generals to express their support for the Vice President.
In reality, the Constitution prohibits the Armed Forces of the Philippines from engaging “directly or indirectly, in any partisan political activity.”
Contrastingly, a number of retired police, military generals, and cabinet secretaries under the administrations of former presidents Benigno Aquino III, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Fidel Ramos have backed the candidacy of Robredo.
As of writing, the Twitter post has reached 971 likes and 357 retweets. (JV)