LOOK: Is Leni Robredo, the new Mar Roxas?

Netizens react on the pretentious poses of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo as she participated once again in the annual Brigada Eskwela of the Department of Education (DepEd). Many claimed that the said photos were alike to the LP partylist member Mar Roxas.

In the Philippines, the “it” factor is whatever it is that appeals to the emotional crowd. To win the crowd, you need some kind of story the audience can cling on to. Although many people still claimed that they get annoyed to those candidates that really are trying so hard in getting the attention of the public.

Former DILG Secretary Mar Roxas was then a victim of hundreds of memes circulating the Net depicting him in various pompous poses (distributing relief goods to typhoon victims, posing on a block of ice, personally handling the traffic). Various netizens then claimed that these are proofs that he suffers from that renowned Filipino condition, “pakitang tao”.

The resulting pictures were the start of what can loosely be described as a trend. On social media, gifs, videos and pictures of politicians smiling before their faces fall suddenly are immensely popular. Each snippet allegedly tells the story of a public figure’s true emotions – be it heavy make-up Robredo seemingly smiling at the camera while painting or Mar Roxas edited photo drinking on a plate.

With manipulated photos, videos, gifs and even poses and their popularity online, netizens must be more critical in deciphering the original from the fake. It is not safe to form a conclusion about a person’s character based on these photos without even doing due diligence. Before we react or comment on anything that we see online, let’s do our research first.

Check out photos of Leni Robredo and tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.