RAPPLER’S TWEET:

In a tweet dated May 6, Rappler shared photos of 30-year-old Antonio Esquelador with the Mayon volcano as backdrop and described him as “a scholar of Vice President Leni Robredo for the last five years.” Esquelador is a man born without legs.

Rappler said Esquelador Jr. of Barangay Puro, Legazpi City, was making his way through 5 kilometers to join the May 6 Albay grand send-off for Robredo.

CHALLENGED:

As reported by the Philippine News Agency, Commission on Higher Education chairperson J. Pros Pero “Popoy” de Vera questioned Rappler’s tweet.

De Vera pointed out that Esquelador was actually a Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) beneficiary under Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education (UAQTE) law.

RA 10931, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017, helps qualified disadvantaged students and those residing and studying in cities and municipalities without public universities to support their studies.

In view of the foregoing , The Adobo Chronicles tags the Rappler tweet as: