FACT-CHECK: VP Leni used low quality materials is FALSE

CLAIM: Leni Robredo’s housing project used low quality materials

RATING: FALSE

A Tiktok video circulating on Facebook claims that Vice President Leni Robredo’s housing project used low quality materials.

The video recycled an old “Expectation vs Reality” meme to illustrate how substandard was the alleged actual housing unit that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) turned over to its recipients.

The user said “noong ibinida ito ng mainstream media, ay sobrang mapapa-bilib ka. Kasi nga ‘yung design ng bahay na ‘to ay talagang pang malakasan kumbaga, mapapa-wow ka,” while showing a picture of the concept design of the house.

Later on, the user said that their expectations were far from reality as he showed a picture of the housing project using substandard materials.

“Kasi ang naging resulta sa pabahay ni Leni Robredo ay mukhang mula sa Lazada. ‘Yung tipong tinignan mo sa computer, chineck mo sa computer, sa cellphone mo, chineck mo, ang ganda ng sapatos, and ganda ng damit. Pero pagdating sa’yo, eh bulok pala,” the user said.

The claim was already debunked on VP Leni’s Facebook page back in December 2020.  She said the houses shown were mockup houses.

“The house shown in the picture is just a mockup so that our partner beneficiaries will have visuals of the actual size of the house. Please see [the] first picture dubbed as ‘REALITY,’” VP Leni wrote in her post.

In the same post, Robredo attached photos of the actual housing units.

A Dec. 2020 article by ABS-CBN News showed a video interview of Robredo including photos and video documentation of the housing project, from the groundbreaking to the construction of the houses.  In the article, Robredo urged critics of her housing project to help instead of spreading false claims about the project.

“Instead of trolling, baka gusto nilang tumulong na lang silang mag-build. Sweat equity lang, yung gastos ng materyales sa amin,” she said.

During a Senate hearing on disinformation, University of the Philippines Journalism professor Yvonne Chua said Robredo is the “biggest victim of disinformation or negative messaging.” Bianca Marie Austero

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