Budget courier Cebu Pacific has apologized to Vice President Leni Robredo after one of their pilots made "purely speculative" and "careless" allegations against the public official.
"Since becoming aware of the social media post by one of our pilots in reference to a flight of Vice President Leni Robredo, I confirm that the pilot has made it clear to us that he had no basis for his claim and was purely speculative and careless on his part," said Cebu Pacific Vice President for Flight Operations Sam Avila in a statement posted on their official Facebook page.
"Cebu Pacific has very strict social media policies covering all of its employees and such a post should not have been published. This is recognized by the said pilot himself," he added.
In the now-deleted Facebook post, the pilot claimed that Robredo caused flight diversions at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila last month in order to have a priority landing.
The post has since drawn flak and has been the subject of fact-checkers online which branded it as fake.
"While the pilot posted his commentary on his own accord, a post he has since removed, on behalf of Cebu Pacific, and as head of our pilot group, I take command responsibility and apologize unreservedly to the vice president and the general public for the actions of our pilot," Avila stated.
Moreover, Cebu Pacific said the pilot involved is currently under disciplinary review.
The camp of the Vice President has yet to issue a statement regarding the issue.
