FACT CHECK: Recently appointed Malacañang press briefer is Atty. Leni Robredo’s “BFF” #FactsFirstPH

Rating: FALSE

Facts: A digital creator alleged on Facebook that Atty. Robredo and Daphne Oseña-Paez are ‘best friends forever’ (BFF).

He provided a screenshot of Atty. Robredo’s congratulatory message to Daphne Oseña-Paez’s stationery and organizer launch in 2015. Robredo referred to Oseña-Paez as a “friend” in the said post, which agitated the supporters of the Marcos administration.

Some netizens defended Daphne Oseña-Paez’s appointment as the press briefer, citing her loyalty to the current administration due to how she expressed her support for President Bongbong Marcos during his campaign period.

In 2013, Robredo also posted an acknowledgment of Daphne Oseña-Paez’s blog about her late husband, Jesse Robredo. In addition, she was also interviewed on a show hosted by Oseña-Paez in 2012.

Although Robredo referred to Oseña-Paez as her “friend” in her 2015 post, the old interactions and posts that they had are not enough to conclude that Daphne Oseña-Paez and Atty. Leni Robredo are “BFFs” in the present. The posts were made several years ago and the status of their relationship at the moment is unclear.

But even during the campaign, Oseña-Paez already declared openly that she was supporting BBM and even boasted that her popularity at least on social media soared after doing so.

Daphne’s father was Marcos Sr.’s pilot during his presidency and was even assigned as a diplomat in Canada before the EDSA revolution.

She was a long-time TV broadcaster, mostly as a host of women’s shows.

Apparently, she became close to former VP Robredo after interviewing her. It didn’t mean that she was a BFF in the strictest sense.

Also, it is normal to change political allegiance throughout the years, as many, including journalists, have done so.

Why we fact-checked this: Intrigues are part of the game of politics. And in the Philippines, the political game is not like chess where you have to remain of one color throughout. Because the political system has already been broken, switching has been the rule rather than the exception. And since the political agenda of the Marcoses now is unity, their followers including vloggers should not be too shocked if he embraces people from all sides of the political spectrum.