Leni Robredo camp, Gabriela, Chel Diokno condemn online sexual harassment targeted at Aika Robredo
Links to an alleged sex video of Aika Robredo, the daughter of presidential aspirant and Vice President Leni Robredo, began surfacing on Twitter on April 11 which have raised concerns among the presidential candidate's camp, supporters, as well as women's groups.
The shared screenshot that made the rounds online showed multiple Google search results of Aika's name with pornographic content.
Robredo's spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez issued a statement on the matter, calling it a "malicious fabrication."
"We have reported it to the platforms concerned para matake-down. Our lawyers are studying our options for legal actions," he said.
The spokesman said supporters should see this incident as a "distraction" and a "vile response to the momentum" that they are gaining. In the last Pulse Asia survey, Robredo gained 9% more voters as leading rival Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s numbers dropped by 4%. The latter remains in the lead with 56% of the votes among 2,400 respondents.
"Ang tamang response dito: Hold the line tayo para sa pag-ibig. Be firm but kind sa pagtatama ng disinformation, kahit gaano ito kawalanghiya," the statement read. "Malinaw na krimen ito."
Atty. Chel Diokno also spoke up about the false propaganda, calling for Google to remove the links from search results.
"It takes a special kind of evil to resort to misogynistic attacks against the kids... We call on Google to remove these links immediately and to pro-actively prevent any more links containing the same abhorrent misogynistic attacks to be published," the senatorial aspirant wrote on Facebook.
"Google should not allow itself to be used for crimes against women," he added.
Fellow senatoriable Antonio Trillanes IV also condemned the act, tweeting the attacks are due to Robredo's momentum.
Simula na ang paninira sa pamilya ni Leni Robredo. Ibig sabihin, palakas na nang palakas. Patuloy nating labanan ang pambabastos dito sa ating lipunan. Ituloy natin ang laban hanggang magtagumpay tayo. #ProtectLeniAndFamily
— Sonny Trillanes IV (@TrillanesSonny) April 11, 2022
#ProtectTheRobredos also began trending on Twitter with supporters standing with Aika.
Meanwhile, Gabriela Partylist Representative Arlene Brosas issued her own statement, calling the incident a "sexist attack" and a form of "online sexual harassment."
"This is a cheap, sexist online attack meant to demand women and to distract the public from Robredo's crusade for good governance and people's welfare," she said.
"This latest sexist attack highlights the character of Philippine elections, where women are either made objects of sexual intrigues to prop up someone's candidacy," Brosas added.
‼️Gabriela Partylist flags online sexual harassment aimed at VP Leni Robredo's daughter Aika ‼️[THREAD] #SafeSpacesForAll #LeniKiko2022 pic.twitter.com/w9joUMo1cI
— #67GabrielaPartylist (@GabrielaWomenPL) April 11, 2022
The Gabriela Representative is one of the authors of the Safe Spaces Act, which penalizes all forms of sexual harassment in streets, public spaces, and online spaces.