Years-old photo of Philippine flag at half-mast used to fuel rumours about Marcos's health

Published on April 15, 2026 at 11:45
2 min read
By Ara EUGENIO, AFP Philippines

Philippine social media users speculated about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s failing health after he skipped an event in early April, but his office has dispelled the rumours, including posts sharing an old photo of the country's flag at half-mast suggesting the leader had passed away. The image was originally published by a state news media in 2022, when the flag at the presidential palace was lowered to mourn the death of former leader Fidel Ramos.

"Why is the flag of the Republic of the Philippines at Malacanang Palace currently at half-mast?" reads a Tagalog-language Facebook post shared on April 12, 2026 by Jay Sonza, a former broadcaster and supporter of influential Duterte family who has previously spread misinformation debunked by AFP.

The post includes an image of a flag flown at half-mast in front of a white building.

Sonza's caption proceeds to call on the presidential team to explain the supposed scene.

"Is this more of your 'planted' fake news and traps, or has an official actually passed away?" he added. "Just asking. Because things like this shouldn't be made into a joke."

Screenshot of false post taken on April 15, with red X added by AFP

The claim is part of a wave of speculation surrounding Marcos's health after he skipped an event with overseas Filipino workers returning from the Middle East on the morning of April 6 (archived links here and here).

But Marcos was filmed attending other events that day within the presidential palace (archived here and here).

The photo appeared in similar Facebook posts questioning the leader's condition and linking it to ongoing House of Representatives proceedings into multiple impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte that could have her barred from holding public office if convicted (archived link).

"This is why they're rushing the impeachment case of Vice President Duterte," one user's comment read.

"Hope VP Sara steps in to govern this country as the next top government official after the president," said another user.

But the circulating photo was not taken recently.

Old photo

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the photo as the first of three images shared in an August 1, 2022 post on Facebook by the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) (archived link).

According to the PNA's caption, the flags were lowered "to honour former president Fidel V. Ramos who died July 31, 2022 at age 94."

Ramos, a career soldier remembered for his unflappable demeanor during moments of upheaval, was the second president to lead the country following the dictatorship of Marcos Jr.'s father and namesake (archived link).

The post attributes the images to photographers from the News and Information Bureau (NIB) of the Presidential Communications Office and shows flags lowered to half-mast at three locations within the Malacañang Palace compound (archived link).

An AFP stringer identified the circulating image specifically as having been taken at the Kalayaan Grounds.

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared photo (L) and the PNA post from 2022 (R)

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro also told AFP on April 14 that Jay Sonza had shared an "old photo" in his post.

"Those circulating claims that he is seriously ill are definitely spreading disinformation," Castro said.

AFP has previously debunked claims about Marcos's health.

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