‘DIVISIVE LEADERSHIP’ | Duterte’s lack of action on online trolls creates more division, says Robredo

March 4, 2021 , 03:14 PM

(March 4, 2021) – Hiring of paid trolls on social media has continued to polarize society, Vice President Leni Robredo lamented on Wednesday, urging President Rodrigo Duterte to make concrete efforts that would help unify Filipinos instead.

Robredo, the top opposition leader, called out the continued proliferation of paid trolls online, whose primary goal is to spew hate, lies, and false information. Robredo said Duterte could have done something to stop them from growing out of hand but none of that happened over the last four years.

“Parati kasing obligasyon noong nananalo (na) i-unify ‘yung tao,” said Robredo said in an interview with GMA’s Malou Mangahas. “Parang ngayon, hindi ‘yun nangyari. Ang nangyari tuloy, naging very divisive ‘yung leadership. Alam natin na ang dami-daming social media trolls na obviously binabayaran. Hindi natin alam kung sinong nagbabayad, maraming mga speculations. Pero dapat sana hindi ito hinahayaan, kasi ito ‘yung nag-divide sa ating lahat.”

Troll armies have pervaded the social media landscape of the Philippines in recent years, with politicians and other powerful figures using them to amplify their agenda across different online platforms. Others even post defamatory remarks to opposing parties.

A 2017 study by the University of Oxford found out that Duterte’s camp spent some $200,000 or around P10 million to spread his propaganda. Verbal abuse, hate speech, and discrimination were among the popular forms of trolling done by his paid trolls.

Duterte later admitted to hiring his own set of defenders, but he dismissed the allegations that the government funded the paid trolls to push his cause upon his election as the president.

“‘Yung masama nito, fake news talaga ‘yung ginagamit. Parang ‘yung kapital ‘yung fake information, and tine-take advantage ‘yung fact na puwede mo kasi itong gawin na anonymous ikaw dahil sa nature ng social media ngayon,” said Robredo.

While Robredo recognized that political disputes among groups and their supporters are inevitable, she pointed out that unifying the people was a missed opportunity for Duterte and his cohorts.

“Siguro mas nasa mabuti tayong kalagayan ngayon kung ang tao mas cooperative, kung ang tao nagkakaintindihan. Hindi mawawala iyong alitan, pero hindi sa level na masyadong polarized—parang kung Dilawan ka, Dilawan ka, kung DDS (Diehard Duterte Supporter) ka, DDS ka. Dapat sana hindi ganoon,” said Robredo. “Dapat iyong pinag-aawayan ay ‘yung issues. Dapat walang linyahan ng kulay kasi matagal nang tapos ang eleksyon. ‘Yung opportunity to unite, hindi ginamit. Kabaligtaran ‘yung nangyari.”

Robredo said she does not employ online trolls as her camp does not have the means to pay for them. She said some of her supporters have learned to fight back, but she also underscored that this should not happen anymore.

“Hindi siya okay in the sense na mga Pilipino naman tayong lahat, bakit ba tayo mag-aaway, na whether we like it or not, in the succeeding years, tayo din iyong magkakasama? Pero para sa akin, para mag-hire, para mag-hire para manira, tingin ko mali ‘yun,” said Robredo.

(Beatrice Puente/PM)

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