‘Malicious fabrication’: OVP denies Cebu Pacific pilot’s priority landing claim vs Robredo (Sabong News)

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) on Tuesday, May 17, denied a circulating social media post by a Cebu Pacific pilot claiming that Vice President Leni Robredo demanded for priority landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last month. The OVP said the incident “never happened” and called the post by pilot Van Ranoa a “malicious fabrication.” “During her entire tenure as Vice President, VP Leni has never asked to be prioritized for taking off or landing when traveling by air. Any claim to the contrary is a lie,” Robredo’s office added. The management of Cebu Pacific, headed by Captain Sam Avila, vice president for Flight Operations, apologized to the Vice President in an official statement by the company. “Since becoming aware of the social media post by one of our pilots in reference to a flight of Vice President Leni Robredo, I confirm that the pilot has made it clear to us that he had no basis for his claim and was purely speculative and careless on his part,” he said. While Ranoa has since removed the social media post, Avila stressed that he will undergo “disciplinary review in accordance with our company rules and standards.” In the since deleted post, the pilot claimed that he had to divert a flight last month so her flight will have priority landing in Manila. This was Ranoa’s reaction to Robredo posting a photo of her while ironing Jillian’s, her youngest daughter, toga for her graduation at the New York University on March 18. The OVP lamented that fake news continue to hound the Vice President. “It is alarming that almost a week after the elections, the disinformation and fake news being spread on social media against VP Leni continue unabated,” the statement read. “Lying, unfortunately, has become a full-blown industry on social media. VP Leni reiterates her commitment to take firm steps against disinformation and promote truthful public discourse,” it added. Robredo lost by as much as 16 million votes to presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the recently concluded 2022 presidential race. She is currently in New York with her three daughters to attend Jillian’s commencement exercises at the Yankee Stadium.