Former Vice President and current Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo has acknowledged what she described as a misstep in her political journey — her delayed response to fake news and online trolling.
In the second part of her interview on ‘Beyond the Game’ by Bilyonaryo News Channel, uploaded on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, Robredo said her team’s initial approach to online disinformation is something she now looks back on with regret.
“Ako, none, e. Siguro if there ever was and I’m not really sure if that can be branded as a regret, was how we responded to the trolling,” she began.
Robredo explained that when online trolling first surfaced during the 2016 elections, it was still a relatively new phenomenon.
“Because when the trolling was started, it was new—noong 2016, the trolling was very new. Para it only started during the elections.”
She admitted that at the time, her camp chose not to engage.
“So kami, ano kami, high level. Parang sabi namin don’t mind them. Because false narratives would not be sustainable, in the end, people would not believe them,” she said.
“Pero how wrong we were because we did not do anything about it,” she added.
According to Robredo, many people eventually bought into the false narratives circulating online, and by the time they decided to respond, the damage had already been done.
“Parang a lot of people, bought into the false narratives that were being peddled. And when we started responding to them, parang it was so late already. Naalala ko, I started being a Vice President, 2016. We only started responding to the fake news [on] 2019.”
She admitted that she initially dismissed the attacks, believing they did not deserve her time.
“Kasi naisip ko, bakit ko pag-aaksayaan ng oras, hindi naman totoo.”
Robredo also said she does not blame the public for believing the disinformation, noting how unchecked lies can quickly take root in the online ecosystem.
“That was our line of thinking pero looking back, especially when we were trying to make sense in the election already in 2022, we were consulting with some people who are experts in the field. Parang ‘yon ‘yong sinasabi nila na kapag may kasinungalingan [at] hindi mo kaagad kinorrect, parang papasok na siya kaagad sa ecosystem and hindi na rinig ang voice mo.”
“So talagang ang tao, hindi mo mabe-blame pero paniniwalaan ‘yun,” she concluded.
