Naga City Mayor and former Vice President Leni Robredo has refuted online allegations that she covertly travels to Manila on a weekly basis, claiming that the social media account driving the rumors is being bankrolled by a local political figure.
The issue surfaced after an online user named “Niko Perez” labeled the mayor a “liar” and alleged that she had been making unannounced weekly visits to the capital. The post was taken down shortly after it was published on Wednesday.
Breaking her silence on Saturday via social media, Robredo maintained that the account began attacking her the moment she launched her mayoral campaign in Naga.
“This troll started as soon as I decided to run for Mayor of Naga. The name used is an assumed name. Someone else used to handle it. It’s different now. Reports say a local politician is paying for it,” Robredo said in a social media post.
She noted that the operator of the page became evident after its narrative shifted to target a different opponent of the politician before refocusing on her.
“It became very obvious who was behind it because when that politician had another rival, the page attacked that person instead. Now it’s targeting me again because we’re inspecting substandard work,” she added.
While Robredo noted that she typically refrains from interacting with online trolls to avoid wasting time, she chose to speak out after receiving encouragement from an individual she holds in high regard.
Clarifying her schedule for the week in question, the mayor detailed her exact whereabouts.
“The troll apparently posted this last Wednesday. I was supposed to attend a League of Mayors meeting in Cebu. It would have been my first time attending because Mayor Francis Zamora had asked me to be present when they appointed me as adviser for intergovernmental affairs. That Wednesday, I was at the office from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. I left at 9 a.m. for the airport, but my flight was canceled, so I returned to the office after lunch and stayed there the rest of the day and throughout Thursday,” she detailed.
She explained that she eventually left for Manila on Thursday night via public bus to make it to scheduled appointments.
“I took the bus to Manila Thursday evening to attend meetings set with QC (Quezon City) government and Comelec (Commission on Election) yesterday, Friday,” Robredo continued.
Dismissing the narrative that she frequents Manila every week, Robredo clarified that her trips usually happen on a monthly basis.
“I don’t go to Manila every week. My schedule is to travel there only once a month, and I usually go on a Thursday or Friday so I can spend Saturday with my daughters, two of whom live in Manila. I return to Naga on Sunday. This is easy to verify because I post daily updates about my activities,” Robredo pressed.
According to the mayor, many of these visits are aimed at sourcing external funding and partnerships for Naga City, which she said have already yielded approximately ₱1 billion in aid.
She acknowledged that recent trips became more frequent due to official obligations and personal invitations, such as attending weddings for Naga residents.
Robredo firmly stressed that public money is never used to fund her travels.
“Even when my trips are official, I have NEVER charged my travel expenses to the city government. In fact, we are preparing a report in response to a request to disclose the travel expenses of all elected city officials,” she said.
She added that she covers her own fuel costs and does not use a state-issued vehicle, choosing instead to drive an SUV bought by her daughter, Aika Robredo, back in 2012.