Heckling of daughter ‘unfortunate, isolated' incident — Robredo (Sabong News)

CATANAUAN, Quezon—Vice President Leni Robredo came to the defense of Baguio people, volunteers, and Mayor Benjamin Magalong for the heckling incident involving her youngest daughter, Jillian. She said during an interview in Quezon province that there is no reason for Magalong and the volunteers to apologize since it was an “isolated incident.” “Very unfortunate na nangyari. Pero gaya ng sinabi ko sa message ko kay Mayor Magalong, kasi nag apologize siya, formal apology. Hindi naman necessary pero ina-appreciate natin (that it happened. But like I said in my message to Mayor Magalong, because he was apologizing, he made a formal apology, it is not necessary but we appreciate it),” Robredo added. Magalong on Wednesday, April 27, issued a statement to apologize to Jillian. “To the Vice President’s daughter and to other visiting candidates and their supporters, do accept our heartfelt regrets over this incident. We treat everyone with utmost fairness, with nothing but the very best experience our visitors can have while in our midst,” he said. Retweeting the statement, Robredo stated that there was no need for Magalong to apologize. “Thank you very much, Mayor Benjie, but there is no need to apologize. This unfortunate incident does not diminish our love and respect for the people of Baguio,” she wrote. READ: Jillian, the Vice President said, still has a lot of events lined up in Baguio. Even Robredo herself will be in Baguio on Monday, May 2. “So, hindi naman niya naapektuhan ‘yung lakad. . . . So, ano, ‘yung assurance ko lang sa mga kasamahan natin doon, lalo na ‘yung volunteers kasi sila ‘yung nag a-apologize (the events were not affected . . . So, my assurance to our people there, especially the volunteers, because they were apologizing) absolutely no need to apologize,” she said. Jillian is currently in the so-called “Solid North” region, visiting Ilocos Sur, La Union, and Baguio to campaign for her mother. The heckling incident, wherein someone was heard shouting at Jillian that she was only a “dayuhan (tourist)” there, did not deter Robredo’s youngest daughter from carrying out her campaign. The Vice President’s critics did not waste time in attacking Jillian on social media, alleging that the heckler wouldn’t have reacted that way if he was not provoked. They hinted that Jillian might have been disrespectful to the market vendor, and that was why he reacted that way. A longer version of the video saw Jillian was simply taking a selfie when the heckler started shouting.