MANILA, Philippines — Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa on Sunday night denounced reports claiming he had been shot in Metro Manila, branding them as “fake news” meant to derail his campaign against corruption in local flood control projects.
In a 27-minute Facebook Live broadcast, Espinosa assured residents he was unharmed. “Batman is alive,” he said, invoking a nickname given to him by his political group, Bando Espinosa Pundok Kausaban (BEPK).
He warned his constituents not to fall for disinformation.
“Don’t let yourselves be carried away by fake news because fake news is very common now—it’s being used to cover up issues on flood control in the municipality,” Espinosa said. “Some media people even made up reports that I was wounded, shot, and rushed to the hospital. That is fake.”
The mayor linked the false reports to his ongoing probe of alleged ghost and failed projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“We will continue with our inspection of the flood control projects in the Municipality of Albuera. We will not abandon this no matter what, even if the so-called VIPs are too stingy to help,” he said.
Espinosa claimed that “biased” media and certain politicians were behind attempts to silence him.
“Some media outlets are clearly biased—they favor certain people. They protect some, while attacking others. That is not fair,” he said.
