CLAIM

An article from Journal News Online was published last April 21, 2022, bearing the news that Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Ma. Sison admitted that he is advising Leni Robredo’s presidential candidacy, and the party is a key contributor to her campaign.

RATING

However, the claim was FALSE and has already been denied by both Sison and Robredo

FACTS

Sison dismissed the claim and said the report was “fake news.” He said that he is not acting as an adviser for Robredo. He also denied consulting with her spokesperson, Barry Guttierez. In addition, he also insisted that he never met the article’s writer, Dacusin, for an interview.

Robredo also denied that Sison has been advising her in her presidential campaign. She said that she had never even talked with Sison, who is exiled in the Netherlands.

The false claim was based on the statement supposedly released by Ang Bayan, the official news organ of CPP. However, CPP chief information officer, Marco Valbuena, stated that Ang Bayan did not publish such a news item. He also mentioned that the claim was meant to support past statements that the party plans to ally with Robredo.

WHY IT MATTERS

The false news article published by Journal News Online has more than 31K views as of April 23, 2022. It is important to note that Journal News Online seems to be a “news” website that consistently peddles anti-Robredo, pro-Marcos sentiments.

In addition, the article was also shared by presidential candidate Ping Lacson on his verified Twitter account, which has almost 60,000 followers. Lacson’s caption to the tweet is, “Is this true? Are they that desperate to win?”

SOURCES

Dacusin, Lee Ann P. “Joma admits advising Leni.” Journal News Online, April 21, 2022. https://journalnews.com.ph/joma-admits-advising-leni/.

De Santos, Jonathan, “Sison: No talks at all with Robredo campaign.” PhilStar, April 22, 2022. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2022/04/22/2176070/sison-no-talks-all-robredo-campaign.

Lacson, Panfilo [@iampinglacson]. “Is this true? Are they that desperate to win? ...” Twitter, April 22, 2022. https://twitter.com/iampinglacson/status/1517415802550427649

Lalu, Gabriel Pabico and John Eric Mendoza. “Robredo debunks ties with CPP founder, eyes legal action vs purveyors of fake news.” Inquirer.net, April 23, 2022. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1586876/robredo-debunks-ties-with-cpp-founder-eyes-legal-action-vs-purveyors-of-fake-news.

Sadongdong, Martin. “Joma Sison: I have not been advising Leni.” Manila Bulletin, April 23, 2022. https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/23/joma-sison-i-have-not-been-advising-leni/.