DESPERATE to gain attention as the campaign nears the homestretch, the camp of Leni Robredo is resorting to all forms of traditional and social media manipulations, deceits and lies in an obvious effort to sway the people’s support for her.

In her rally in Negros, her social media manipulators made it appear that several people were forced to take a walk while purportedly on their way to her event in Bacolod because of alleged canceled bus services in the area.

The false claim was immediately belied by the Vallacar Transit Inc. by issuing a statement stating among others that there was no stoppage of trips or cancellation of its operations in any part of Northern Negros on the claimed day and on any day for that matter.

“Vallacar Transit Inc. would like to inform our beloved riding public that we have no stoppage of our trips,” the statement read.

“This is contrary to statements maliciously spread in the social media,” it also said.

“We are here to serve the riding public with utmost safety and comfort even during the pandemic, and there is no reason for us to cancel our trips now that the travel restrictions have been lowered,” it stressed.

The firm then advised the public to be wary and not believe everything that they read in social media.

The same rally which was held at a certain Paglaum Sports Complex also earned the ire of the public after the organizers claimed that there were 70,000 people who attended the event.

A social media user keenly observed that with the total of two hectares including the stage, ringsides, the upper and lower boxes, and the bleachers, estimated with 16,000 square meters for the audience, the sports complex may only neatly accommodate 16,000 or one person per square meter. Even if it was doubled, or placed at two persons per square meter, the entire complex may only accommodate 32,000 at the most.

“16k capacity times 2, how can u say that Paglaum can accommodate 70k in four-hectare size and divided pa by 2 for BPO industry. Philippine Arena capacity is 50k with 140 hectarres, sino pinagloloko niyo?” the social media user correctly observed.

“Do the math much better than your placards,” the user derisively said.

With that fantastic claim, Paglaum Arena just became the world’s biggest indoor arena surpassing even the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, the acknowledged biggest indoor arena in the world that can fill up to only a maximum of 55,000.

Paglaum also overtook in an instant the Saitama Super Arena in Japan that can accommodate 36,500 and Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan that can host 27,000 people.

A police officer who was in charge of crowd control at Paglaum also confirmed that there was no way that the area could accommodate 70,000.

“Masyado maliit po iyong lugar, ‘di kakayanin ang 70,000 na tao,” he stressed.

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