Cambridge Analytica had no hand in PRRD’s victory

MANILA - Malacañang on Tuesday, April 10, denied that British political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica played a key role in the landslide victory of President Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 elections.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte, who was then Davao City mayor, won “fair and square” because of the “trust and confidence” of over 16 million Filipinos.

Roque cited Duterte’s then campaign finance manager, now Finance Secretary, Carlos Dominguez III, who said that no money was spent to seek advice from Cambridge Analytica.

“The Secretary of Finance, 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,” he said.

Roque said there was no need for Duterte to seek help from the Cambridge Analytica to win the 2016 elections, as insinuated by a report published in the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

“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,” Roque said in a statement.

“We should respect the President’s landslide victory, which was a result of the trust and confidence of the Filipino people, and not undermine it with unsubstantiated allegations,” the presidential spokesman added.

Cambridge Analytica, the controversial political consultancy firm, is currently embroiled in a controversy for purportedly siphoning around 50 million Facebook users’ date to aid Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential campaign.