Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan issued a statement on Feb. 6, 2024 disowning a Facebook post attributing a quote to him as saying that ayuda budget was granted after he voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte. From the Facebook page of Atty. Lordan Suan

MANILA — A House lawmaker on Thursday disavowed a now viral Facebook post quoting him as saying that Speaker Martin Romualdez had green-lit an additional budget for "ayuda", or aid, after he voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte. 

House impeaches VP Sara Duterte

The post came a day after Duterte was impeached and two since a House panel held a hearing on "fake news" and disinformation.

"It has come to my attention that a post from the fake page, The Working Congressman, is circulating online. I never issued that statement. This is fake news and black propaganda aimed to mislead the people and tarnish my name, that of Speaker Martin Romualdez, and the House of Representatives. These are all lies," Cagayan de Oro Rep. Lordan Suan said in a statement. 

The lawmaker uses the hashtag #WorkingCongressman in his social media posts. 

Suan was one of the over 200 House members who backed the impeachment of Duterte on Wednesday. 

LIST: The House members who voted to impeach VP Sara Duterte

Hours after the vote, the Facebook page "The Working Congressman" uploaded a post attributed to Suan that partly said "To my supporters, I know you stand with me. Rest assured, the AYUDA is coming. After we voted YES, Speaker Romualdez provided additional budget, allowing us to give even more assistance to the people." 

Suan said he did not issue such statement.

"Yes, I voted yes to the impeachment. I voted for accountability, and not against any individual," he said in a statement.

House rep unsure who initiated impeach rap vs VP Sara Duterte he signed

The "fake post" from the page remains up and has now over 80,000 reactions, and thousands of shares and comments.

Duterte Youth party-list chairman Ronald Cardema alleged without proof that funds tagged "for later release" may have played a role in the impeachment talks.

"Ang balita ko merong mga pondo na nakalagay 'for later release' ibig sabihin it is a conditional release of funds, so if you have been promised millions or hundreds of millions of funds, and you do not commit yesterday, baka hindi ma-release yan," Cardema told ANC's Headstart.

(What I heard was there are funds labeled 'for later release', meaning it is a conditional release of funds, so if you have been promised millions or hundreds of millions of funds, and you did not commit yesterday, that might not be released)

Cardema, who is running for a local post in Laguna, did not say where he allegedly heard what he said he did.

ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro also denied she was offered money to back the impeachment complaint against Duterte.

Castro and other lawmakers of the Makabayan bloc backed a separate complaint in December but also signed the one that was eventually adopted on Wednesday.

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