Duterte says that he has no connection with Cambridge Analytica

After the issue of Duterte’s campaign team meeting with Britsh political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica during the May 2016 election came out, President Rodrigo Duterte faced the accusations and said he has no links with the firm.

President Rodrigo Duterte / Presidential photo

Duterte said that the popular firm had nothing to do with his campaign in the presidential elections and that he never transacted or paid them.

"Wala akong alam. Hindi ko man kilala 'yan," the President said at a press briefing in Davao City after his arrival from a working visit to China.

"Saka bakit ako magbabayad sa mga ugok na Cambridge ang magtrabaho para sa kampanya ko? Lalo akong matalo niyan,” he added.

It can be remembered that Duterte won the May 2016 elections with 16.6 million votes, and 6 million more than his closest rival.

Duterte said that his campaign was a simple one and he had no help from the firm.

"Wala akong Cambridge, Cambridge, Oxford. Basta ang aking kampanya simple lang," Duterte said.

The issue came out when It was known that Cambridge Analytica chied executive officer Alecander Nix dined in 2015 with Jose Gabriel “Pompee” La Vina and Peter Tiu Lavina, important key players in Duterte’s social media campaign.

Cambridge Analytica has also responded to the issue saying that they engaged “in good faith”.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez / Photo from Google

The Palace said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, in his capacity as treasurer of the Duterte campaign, claimed that Cambridge Analytica was not paid to boost Duterte’s appeal to voters.

It also urged critics to "respect the President’s landslide victory, which was a result of the trust and confidence of the Filipino people, and not undermine it with unsubstantiated allegations."

Facebook has said that 1.1 million accounts of Filipinos may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, which was accused of using Facebook users’ data to aid the campaign of United States President Donald Trump.

Cambridge Analytica consultancy has denied wrongdoing, saying it engaged a university professor "in good faith" to collect Facebook data in a manner similar to how other third-party app developers have harvested personal information.

The data breach has reportedly impacted 87 million users of the popular social media platform. 

WATCH RELATED VIDEO BELOW:

***

Comment your thoughts, hit Like and Share the article. Thank you!

Source: GMA News Online