Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino criticized ABS-CBN News on Monday for displaying photos of him and his staff in a crime news report that aired on TV Patrol on Sunday.

“I strongly condemn the use of photos showing me and my staff, who were wearing my campaign shirts, for a TV Patrol report on a shooting that wounded three people in Barangay Labangal, General Santos City,” Tolentino said.

“This is downright fake news! My staff and I had no involvement of any kind with the said crime,” he added.

Tolentino asked ABS-CBN to take down the news item that was posted on its website, YouTube, and Facebook platforms.

“Intentional or not, this mistake could have been prevented if ABS-CBN News had verified the pictures. Observing due diligence is the primary responsibility of any media organization,” he stressed.

Tolentino noted that the photos shown during the Sunday edition (2 March) of TV Patrol were actually taken at the General Santos airport last week when the senator visited the city as a guest at the Kalilangan Festival on 27 February.