Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso is not against President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo.

The clarification came during Domagoso’s live update on Wednesday night after an alleged Viber conversation of Manila Public Information Officer Julius Leonen with unknown individuals was posted by Facebook user Expose Philippines at about 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Leonen allegedly confirmed that Manila will soon announce Domagoso’s 2022 presidential bid while supposedly hinting that the government had lost public support.

“For the record, hindi totoo itong chat na ito, never kong sinabi ito and hindi nag e-exist ang chat na ‘to (this chat is fake, I never said those things, and that chat never existed),” Leonen said.

He said the fake Viber account used his profile photo taken from his personal account with the obvious intent of discrediting him.

“Nalaman ko lang mga 3 p.m. noong marami na nag-chat sakin. Dinelete nila mga one to two hours after ko mag-issue ng statement (I learned about it at about 3 p.m. when I started to receive chat messages. The post was deleted about one to two hours after I issued a statement),” Leonen said.

Domagoso said it is his obligation to protect the interest of his constituents.

“Ako wala kong anti, sa totoo lang. Kapag nakita nyo na may tinulong sa Maynila si Pangulong Duterte, pinasasalamatan ko. Kapag may tinulong si Vice President Leni sa Maynila, pinasasalamatan ko (The truth is, I am not against anyone. If you see that President Duterte sent help to Manila, I thank him. If VP Leni sends help, I also thank her),” he said.

Domagoso advised Leonen to be more careful and reminded all Manila government workers not to meddle in politics and instead focus on serving city residents. (PNA)