A Cebu Pacific executive has apologized to Vice President Leni Robredo and to the public after one of its pilots shared on social media an allegation that seemed to put the second highest official of the land in a bad light.
In a recent statement posted on the airline’s social media account on Tuesday, VP for Flight Operations Capt. Sam Avila said he has confirmed that the pilot in question ‘has made it clear to us that he had no basis for his claim and was purely speculative and careless on his part.’
“I take command responsibility and apologize unreservedly to the Vice President and the general public for the actions of our pilot. As professional aviators and free citizens of this country, we are free to express opinions, but we are also expected to carry out our roles and duties with utmost discernment and caution,” the statement read.
The airline maintained that it has strict social media policies for its employees and that said post should not have been published.
“This is recognized by the said pilot himself. He is currently under disciplinary review in accordance with our Company rules and standards,” Avila added.
Allegation by the pilot
A Facebook post by a Cebu Pacific pilot that made the rounds on social media on Monday claimed that Robredo requested for a priority landing last April, thereby causing flight diversions including those from Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways.
He also chided the Vice President for projecting modesty and humility in public while doing otherwise in private.
However, a fact checking made by Interaksyon revealed no such flight diversions happened in April at the height of the campaign season.
The pilot has since deleted his post, but not before going viral and eliciting varied reactions from netizens.
Previous statement from CebuPac
Hours after the pilot’s viral post, Cebu Pacific released a statement but also deleted it later.
The statement, however, did not deny nor confirm the allegation; fuelling speculations from netizens that it may have actually happened.
It merely said that the airline is governed by Data Privacy Act of 2012 and their company’s own Code of Discipline, as well as their ‘robust’ Social Media Policy which has guidelines on how their employees should behave on social media.
“Sensitive company information and operational details must not be disclosed publicly – even when factual and more so, if erroneous to prevent the spread of disinformation,” part of the statement read.
Cebu Pacific also assured it will address the matter internally with concerned stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the camp of Vice President Robredo has yet to issue its own statement to address the issue.