Another rumor has been hurled at Nacionalista Party (NP) standard-bearer Manuel "Manny" Villar and his camp -- that they allegedly handed out fake Havaianas flip-flops to a group of tabloid reporters.
An email with the subject "Villar gives fake Havaianas to tabloid reporters" was sent to several e-groups and was forwarded to abs-cbnNEWS.com on Monday. It claimed that Avic Amarillo, Villar's media handler, bought the fake flip-flops from Divisoria for tabloid reporters assigned to cover the NP standard bearer.
Reporters for broadsheets and top television networks, on the other hand, allegedly got original pairs of Havaianas flip-flops as pasalubong (gifts) from the Villar camp's campaign sortie in Hong Kong, the email read. "We felt stupid. Just because we write for tabloids they would give us fake slippers," the email read, quoting a so-called female tabloid reporter.
"What Amarillo did was she bought fake Havaianas in Divisoria. Hello, of course reporters know how to distinguish between fake and original. Many got angry," a so-called mole in the Villar camp added.
Havaianas, a Brazilian brand, is very popular in the Philippines. A pair of plain rubber flip-flops costs P700 to P800, while those bearing different designs and patterns may carry price tags of over P1,000.
Height of propaganda?
Amarillo, however, strongly denied the rumor surrounding her and the Villar camp.
In a text message to abs-cbnNEWS.com, she made it clear that no Havaianas flip-flops were distributed to reporters assigned to cover the NP standard-bearer's campaign sorties.
"Di ko kinaya to. [This one's] at the height of propaganda. Ako ang nasa black propaganda na ito eh. Wala na talagang distinction between imagined and real? (This is too much to bear. It's at the height of propaganda, and I'm the one in it. Is there really no more distinction between imagined and real?)," Amarillo said.
Amarillo added that she was not even present in Villar's Hong Kong sortie as the email claimed.
For her part, Mira Gadil, another media handler of the Villar camp, laughed off the said rumor.
"Grabe nakakatawa na iyan ah. May fake Havaianas ba talaga? Akala ko chika at biruan lang iyang negative texts na iyan. (That's really funny. Are there really fake Havaianas? I thought all those negative text messages spreading around are just jokes and gossip)," she told abs-cbnNEWS.com in a text message.
Villar camp dispels 'fake Havaianas' rumor | ABS-CBN News Online Beta
Villar camp dispels 'fake Havaianas' rumor
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