Palace: Duterte ‘did not purchase’ Facebook data

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte “did not purchase” Facebook data from UK consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica for his presidential campaign in 2016, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

“The President won the election fair and square with an overwhelming mandate of over 16 million votes and a margin of over six million. Support for the former Davao City mayor was from all sectors and not just from Facebook or online; thus, the Duterte campaign did not have to purchase information,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez, according to Mr. Roque, “in his capacity as treasurer of the PRRD campaign, assures that he did not pay anything to Cambridge Analytica nor did he transact with them.”

The spokesman said Mr. Duterte’s “landslide victory, which was a result of the trust and confidence of the Filipino people, should be respected.”

“We should... not undermine it with unsubstantiated allegations,” Mr. Roque also said.

The National Privacy Commission said last week it has begun its inquiry on the possible misuse of data from the popular social media site, which has drawn controversy overseas over its data as accessed by the UK firm in connection with the US presidential election that led to Donald J. Trump’s victory also in 2016.

For his part, Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV on Tuesday said he plans to file a resolution seeking a Senate inquiry on the data breach affecting Filipino Facebook users, as also disclosed by Facebook.

“(We will look into) what Cambridge Analytica did to Filipinos, the electorate in particular, in order to influence the outcome of the elections so we could avoid this in the future,” Mr. Trillanes told reporters.

He said the Senate investigation would summon the President’s former campaign spokesperson and former National Irrigation Administration (NIA) chief Peter T. Laviña, who was photographed dining with now suspended Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix in 2015.

For her part, detained opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima in her statement called Mr. Duterte “a Cambridge Analytica-created action star.” —