Philippine statistics agency does not offer cash aid to citizens with national ID

"The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reminded the public that those who avail the Philippine Identification System ID will be given cash assistance," says the Tagalog-language voiceover in a Facebook reel shared on August 17, 2024.

It adds that the authority said, "cash assistance of 5,000 pesos will be given to anyone who has a national ID".

The reel, which was viewed more than 6.8 million times, displays an infographic for the purported cash handout alongside the logos of the PSA and Philippine television network UNTV News and Rescue. 

Tagalog-language text overlaid on top of the infographic also reads: "You'll get P5,000 if you have an ID?"

The national ID system was introduced in 2018 by then-president Rodrigo Duterte, and the cards would include demographic and biometric data (archived link). There have been delays in the delivery of physical ID cards though, with the PSA saying it would take until September 2024 to clear the backlog (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false Facebook reel, captured on August 28, 2024

The clip was reshared on Facebook here, here and here.

Comments on the posts suggest some users believed they were entitled to financial assistance.

"How can I sign up and where? My children and I already have the ID," wrote one user. 

Another asked: "Where can we claim this?"

But the PSA's national statistician Claire Dennis Mapa told AFP on August 28 that the agency does not give "such cash assistance for registration". 

The agency has repeatedly warned the public about posts falsely suggesting Filipinos who applied for the national ID would receive government financial aid (archived links here and here). 

"Being registered or receiving the National ID does not make an individual eligible to receive any cash benefits from the government, and other social protection programs," it said in an August 9 advisory (archived link).  

Edited audio

UNTV's Social Media Manager Flor Gacutan told AFP on August 29 that the false posts featured content from the station that had been "altered and spliced maliciously".

She added that the false posts were "neither produced nor endorsed by the station". 

Gacutan sent AFP a link to their original news report uploaded on TikTok on March 15 that debunked similar financial assistance claims circulating at the time (archived link).

At the report's five-second mark, the anchor says in Tagalog: "The Philippine Statistics Authority reminded the public that those who avail the Philippine Identification System will not be guaranteed cash assistance.

"This has been clarified by the PSA after the agency discovered a Facebook post claiming that a cash assistance of 5,000 pesos will be given to anyone who has a national ID."

The false posts edited words out of the anchor's remarks to make it appear as if she were giving the opposite message.

The superimposed text and the UNTV logo at the top of the false video also matched visual elements of UNTV's TikTok video.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the UNTV news report (right), with corresponding elements highlighted in orange and yellow by AFP: 

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the UNTV news report (right)

AFP has previously debunked hoax financial aid schemes in the Philippines here, here and here.