Showbiz PR disputes blog branding her a ‘pro-Roxas influencer’

Entertainment industry publicist Joyce A. Ramirez expressed outrage yesterday over the dragging of her name in the social media brouhaha after a controversial blogger branded her as a “pro-Roxas in- fluencer.”

In a statement sent to the Manila Bulletin, Ramirez flatly denied the claim of RJ Nieto in his blog, “Thinking Pinoy,” saying it was a false claim that was never verified with her.

“It would be a delusion to claim that I have been hired or worked for Sec. Mar Roxas or Rep. Tom Villarin because I never met them both,” she said. “We were never introduced in person and there are no records that they spoke to me or gave any orders. I have never worked for the LP (Liberal Party) or any of their representatives,” she added.

Ramirez said that during the 2016 elections, she openly supported Sen. Grace Poe for president and then Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for vice president, but only in her personal capacity as a private citizen and not as a public relations (PR) practitioner.

She underscored that she is not under the employ of Roxas, saying: “When claiming that a public official hired a professional for media-related work, you need to provide (pieces of) evidence: 1. signed and notarized contract; 2. proof of payment to support the claim that a ‘transaction’ has taken place; and 3. witnesses who can collaborate that they saw me and them in a work meeting and that they heard the details of the meeting that can strengthen the claim,” she said.

“I would also like to apologize to Sec. Mar Roxas for being dragged to this nonsense. I have nothing to do with the antics of famewhores and their desire to spread fake news,” Ramirez said.

She said a famewhore “is defined as a person who is excessively driven to achieve fame and notoriety. They will stop at nothing (fake news included) to achieve thousands of followers and likes.”

Taking a swipe at Nieto, who just recently ended his consultancy contract with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Ramirez said that as a tax-paying citizen, “it is an insult to the very taxes that I pay that some of it goes to giving salaries to the very same famewhores who will stop at nothing just to get followers and likes.”

Ramirez called on legitimate media entities to “exhaust all means to get all sides” of the story first, “before supporting the spread of fake news.”