Hoax govt advisory falsely claims Philippine beaches closed due to 'heat wave'

"Malacanang approves DOH recommendation to close Boracay during heat wave," reads part of the hoax advisory shared on Facebook on April 2.

It bears the DOH logo and the official seal of the Philippine presidential office.

The post says President Ferdinand Marcos made the order following the recommendation of the "health secretary" and the approval of Pagasa.

Marcos, however, has not appointed a health secretary, as of April 2023.

The post adds the closure order -- purportedly from April 15 to April 30 -- covers the white-sand resort island Boracay and other "well known destinations" in the main island Luzon and in the central Visayas region.

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Screenshot of the false post taken on April 5, 2023.

Similar Facebook posts were shared here and here following the onset of dry season that raised the heat index -- the real temperature felt by the human body -- to 47 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of the archipelago.

However, the fabricated advisory is dated April 1, 2023, suggesting it may have been intended as an April Fool's prank.

Secretary Cheloy Garafil of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) told AFP on April 12 the claim was "completely fake news".

Keyword searches on the PCO's website found no trace of such an order.

The DOH earlier said the posts were "false" in a Facebook post shared on April 4.

"The DOH would like to clarify that there is no such recommendation made by the Department to the Office of the President," the statement read.

The health department reminded the public to stay hydrated, wear comfortable clothing and stay away from direct heat.

A representative from Pagasa told AFP that the agency does not "approve policies", contrary to the claim in the posts.

"We only provide heat indices but we do not approve policies. We provide forecasts but the response is up to the local governments," Pagasa specialist Marco Ibañez told AFP on April 5.

He said there was currently no heat wave in the country.

"As per definition, in order to consider it a heat wave, there has to be three or more consecutive days with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. That has not happened yet," he said.

The Department of Tourism in Western Visayas -- where Boracay island is located -- also published a statement describing the posts as "fake".

The false posts were also debunked by local news outlets Inquirer.net, Philstar and Rappler.