Marcos camp hits Robredo for ‘gutter politics’

The camp of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday hit back at Vice President Leni Robredo after she accused her rival of being behind the smear campaign against her daughter, Aika.

In a statement, Marcos' spokesman, lawyer Vic Rodriguez, said "Robredo and her yellow crew can no longer deceive the Filipino people as we have all been awakened from their propaganda of lies, falsehood and politics of deception."

"In the spirit of Lent, I admonish you not to pass on to us your brand of fake, hateful, negative and gutter politics," Rodriguez said.

"Presidential frontrunner Bongbong Marcos has based his campaign solely on his call for unity anchored on the strengths and merits of his vision and platform for the future of our country, especially the youth that has resonated throughout the land and we shall keep it that way until the very end," he added.

Rodriguez even told Robredo to stop her supposed "deceptions."

In response, Robredo's spokesman, Barry Gutierrez, said that the Marcos camp has never shown its ability to engage in "positive campaigning."

"VP Leni had one of her daughters subjected to a vicious and utterly tasteless attack on social media just yesterday. An attack that under our current laws amounts to a crime. We do not expect sympathy or concern from the Marcos camp; for all their claims of 'positive campaigning' they have long demonstrated they have none," Gutierrez said.

"But it reveals a lot about who they are that barely 24 hours after a crime was committed against VP Leni's family, here they are, in full attack mode, adding insult upon insult on what is already the most unjust of injuries," he added.

Earlier, Robredo speculated that the Marcos camp was the one behind the smear campaign against Aika, wherein an online content falsely featured Aika in pornographic content.

"Hindi ako nagugulat dahil ito na talaga ang kalakaran noong kalaban simula nu'ng natalo siya noong 2016. Simula noong 2016, inulan na ako ng fake news. Pero hindi ako nababawasan [dahil sa fake news]. Ang nababawasan, iyong napapaniwala niya," Robredo told reporters in La Union.

(I am not surprised because this has always been their ploy since he lost in 2016. Since 2016, I have been peppered with fake news. But such fake news did not decimate me. It only decimates those people who were made to believe the lies.)

The Vice President said such smear campaigns are reflective of the kind of governance, or lack of it, her political opponent espouses.

Robredo beat Marcos by 263,473 votes in the 2016 vice presidential race.

Marcos had protested his loss before the Supreme Court, but the high tribunal upheld Robredo's victory last year.—with a report from Llanesca Panti/LDF/VBL, GMA News