FALSE

A quote falsely attributed to a priest has spread on Facebook (FB) from netizens, a group, and a page. It shows him discouraging people from going to church if they will not vote for Vice President and presidential candidate Leni Robredo.

This is false. Fr. James Wenceslao Gascon did not say or post the statement: “Don’t attend church if you’re not voting for Leni.”

The remark has been wrongly connected to the priest as early as December and recently revived on FB from Feb. 17 to Mar. 2. It was also shared on TikTok by a supporter of Robredo’s rival candidate, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., on Feb. 26.

Gascon wrote in an email to VERA Files Fact Check that he made no such statement concerning the vice president.

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