Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto delivers a speech during his first day in office at the Pasig City Hall on July 1, 2019. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/file 

MANILA — Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto on Friday said he has tracked pieces of evidence of an alleged "troll army" on Facebook, following series of negative reactions over his post on the inauguration of construction at Barangay Ugong which he claimed were not from "real people".

"May nadiskubre ako sa Facebook. Nagsimula ito sa isang post ko sa Barangay Ugong drainage na matagal nang 'di napapagawa. Inauguration, nagtaka ako, bakit naman nagalit 'yung mga tao? Hindi pala totoong mga tao 'yun, mga troll pala," he said on his Facebook reel.

The said post uploaded on September 11 garnered over 719 angry reactions and 257 laughing reactions, which Sotto's supporters deemed suspicious.

"Puro trolls 'yung mga naka-angry emoji, grabe. Lagi po kayong mag ingat Mayor Vico Sotto," a resident of Pasig City commented.

"Tinignan natin 'yung mga profile, humingi ako ng tulong sa kaibigan ko. Inisa-isa niya at nakita niya na may pagkakapare-pareho 'yung mga nag-angry reacts at nag-haha reacts. Ito po iba-iba 'yung mga posts, pare-pareho 'yung mga content," he explained while navigating the users' profiles on his phone.

Facebook/Vico Sotto

Sotto said the profiles are linked to services offering "paid trolls and social media engagement".

"Ito medyo mas obvious, ito sa multi-purose, sa may Bunga, pare-pareho 'yung mga content ng mga profiles. At ito 'yung mas mabigat pa roon. 'Yung mga profile na 'yan, sila mismo naka-link sa mga bilihan ng mga trolls, ng mga fake accounts," he added.

The city mayor said he is no longer surprised on the issue and called on his constituents to show that there's no going back to the traditional politics.

"Heto na po may resibo tayo, ang tanong sino kaya ang gumagawa nito?" Sotto asked. "Mga kasama, mga kapuwa ko Pasigueno, alam naman natin na may mga taong handang magsinungaling at manloko para makuha nag gusto nila. Kailangan ko po ng tulong ninyo."

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