Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr waves at supporters after filing his candidacy for the country's 2022 presidential race on October 6, 2021. ( AFP / Jam STA ROSA)

Video falsely claims Philippine top court 'favoured' Marcos heir in electoral disqualification case

This article is more than one year old.
Published on November 22, 2021 at 07:26
2 min read
By AFP Philippines

A viral video circulating in November 2021 claims to show an "official statement" from the Philippine Supreme Court that "favoured Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr" -- son of the country's late dictator -- in a case seeking to bar him from running for president. But the claims are false. As of November 18, there had been no case filed at the Supreme Court to disqualify Marcos Jr, a spokesman confirmed to AFP. The supposed "official statement" shows a court ruling in 1997.

The video was shared on Facebook on November 4, 2021. It has been viewed over 630,000 times since.

Screenshot of the false post taken on November 19, 2021

The video's Tagalog-language title translates as: "JUST IN: THE COURT FAVOURED BONGBONG MARCOS / ROBREDO AND CARPIO FAILED AT TRYING TO DISQUALIFY BBM!"

A voiceover at the start of the video could be heard saying: "The Supreme Court itself directly countered former Associate Justice Antonio Carpio after he filed a case to disqualify former senator Bongbong Marcos from running in the 2022 presidential race."

The video then shows what appears to be a Supreme Court ruling overlaid with text that reads: "OFFICIAL STATEMENT".

Marcos Jr -- also popularly known by his initials "BBM" -- is running for president in 2022.

He faces Vice President Leni Robredo, who narrowly defeated him for the second-highest office in 2016, dealing a blow to the political aspirations of the Marcos clan as they sought to rehabilitate their image.

The video circulated online days after groups filed a petition at the Commission on Elections -- not the Supreme Court -- to bar Marcos Jr's presidential bid over a previous tax conviction.

Antonio Carpio is a former Supreme Court justice who endorsed Robredo for president. In late October, Carpio wrote about Marcos Jr's tax conviction as potential basis for his disqualification.

Robredo and Carpio separately denied they were behind the bid to disqualify Marcos Jr.

The same video was also shared on Facebook here and on TikTok here and here.

Comments to these posts show the video misled people.

"Oppositions are extremely jealous to our beloved Bongbong Marcos, because of massive people supporting him. And they already know that BBM is going to win the Presidency. Thank you Supreme Court of Justice!!!" one wrote.

But the claims in the video are false.

"As of this date no case or petition has been filed before the Supreme Court concerning the candidacy of former Senator Ferdinand 'Bongbong' R. Marcos, Jr. for the coming 2022 presidential elections," Supreme Court spokesman Brian Hosaka told AFP on November 18.

Old court ruling

The purported "official statement" in the misleading video in fact shows a Supreme Court ruling on Marcos Jr's tax deficiencies. The ruling was handed down on June 5, 1997.

Keyword searches found it corresponds to this page on the legal website LawPhil Project.

An official copy of the ruling could be viewed here on the Supreme Court's online library.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the purported "official statement" in the misleading video (L) and the ruling with the date circled in red by AFP (R):

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