THE controversial Toyota Hilux vehicle with red plate number SKD 417, which was photographed on a campaign run and appeared in a viral Facebook post, is registered to a local government unit from Mindanao based on Land Transportation Office records.
The Facebook post showed the parked vehicle being used to carry campaign materials of the Liberal Party while a group of men were assembling LP posters nearby.
The posters, bearing the words “Daang Matuwid Roxas” can be seen prominently in the picture.
The post started trending when Cebu Flash Report posted it on its Facebook page on Thursday morning.
This led to allegations that the vehicle belonged to the provincial government of Cebu.
As of this writing, the post has garnered more than 1,000 reactions from netizens, almost 3,000 shares, and comments mostly condemning the act.
Cebu provincial information officer Ethel Natera denied the Cebu provincial government’s involvement even before the registered owner of the vehicle was verified.
Natera said the plate numbers of all vehicles of the Capitol end with the number “8” with two exceptions, but the plate numbers of those vehicles end in “1.”