Latest news with #Tagalog-language
AFP
11 hours ago
- Politics
- AFP
Ex-Iranian president did not die in latest Iran-Israel war
"Breaking news! Helicopter crash / According to the report, the plane carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi exploded (June 24)," partly reads the Tagalog-language caption of a Facebook post shared on June 25. It displays an image that appears to be from a TV report, with The Tagalog-language chyron says, "Foreign leaders offered their condolences after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi." Image Screenshot of the false post taken on June 26, 2025, with the red X mark added by AFP The posts circulated after Iran retaliated against Israel's major bombardment campaign on June 13 targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites and killing top officials (archived link). Residential areas have also been hit in the fighting, with the health ministry in Tehran reporting at least 627 civilians killed and 4,900 wounded (archived link). Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel have killed 28 people, according to official figures. While Iran and Israel have been locked in a shadow war for decades, their 12-day conflict was by far the most destructive confrontation between them (archived link). A US-proposed ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding (archived link). US President Donald Trump had accused both countries of violating the ceasefire he announced late June 23, but hours later he said that it was in effect. Several other users re-shared the circulating TV report as recent, and comments on the post indicate some users were misled. "Maybe this is just a show. Because Iran attacked last night," one user said. Another wrote: "Haha smell something fishy. Why did he die? Because they lost to America". But the widely shared image is from a news report in May 2024. of the news chyron found that the Philippine broadcaster News5 uploaded the report on its verified TikTok page on May 21, 2024 (archived link). The report originally aired on the May 20 newscast of News5's Frontline Pilipinas (archived link). Its video caption said in Tagalog: "The president of Iran was killed in a helicopter crash. The Iranian foreign minister also died from the accident." Visuals shared in the false post corresponded to the 1:06 mark of News5's video. Image Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (left) and the News5 report uploaded on TikTok, with the red X and rectangular elements added by AFP AFP reported the helicopter apparently made a "hard landing" in the Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, near its border with Azerbaijan, under circumstances that remain unclear (archived link). Former health minister and long-time parliamentarian Masoud Pezeshkian replaced the late Raisi after winning the 2024 presidential polls (archived link). The election was called early following the death of the ultraconservative president Raisi, and took place amid heightened regional tensions and domestic discontent (archived link). AFP has debunked other false information on the Iran-Israel war here.
AFP
3 days ago
- Politics
- AFP
Footage of Philippine election workers destroying unused ballots not proof of fraud
A TikTok video posted on June 2 shows footage of people in a room tearing up papers, next to a picture of Comelec chairperson George Garcia. "Those ballots should not be torn up, they should be used in the recount," reads the Tagalog-language text superimposed on the video. "George Garcia, are you afraid people will find out how you manipulated results of the elections?" Image Screenshot of the false TikTok post taken on June 15, with a red X added by AFP Vice President Sara Duterte, who may face an impeachment trial at the Senate, said in June that she believes the May 12 mid-term vote was marred with fraud, after several senatorial candidates she backed did not win a seat (archived here and here). Her political party has since asked the country's Supreme Court to order a recount of votes (archived link). Philippine outlet ANC reported Garcia has rejected the allegations (archived link). The video was shared elsewhere on TikTok and Facebook. Comments on the post indicate some users appear to believe the footage shows a cover-up. "This only proves that the PDP-Laban won," one said, referring to Duterte's political party. "This is embarrassing for you, Garcia!" another wrote. But the clip actually shows election workers destroying unused ballots as required by law. Livestreamed process Keyword searches of the clip's keyframes led to a two-minute video published by local news outlet Daily Tribune on Facebook on May 30 with a caption saying it shows "the destruction of about six million unused, defective, and rejected printed ballots" printed for the elections (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the false TikTok post (left) and Daily Tribune's footage (right) taken on June 24 Other local news outlets, including The Manila Times and ABS-CBN, also published videos showing a similar scene in reports (archived here and here). The election agency also posted a livestream on its official Facebook page on the same day showing the process (archived link). 'Standard procedure' Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told AFP on June 25 that after every election, the agency destroys defective and rejected ballots, as well as spoiled accountable forms, "as part of its culmination of printing, verification, and exit processes". The requirement -- along with the printing of official ballots and other election-related tasks -- is outlined in Comelec documents on on election day (archived here and here). Image Screenshot of a portion of Comelec's resolution no.11076 (left) and resolution no.11096 (right) with the blue highlight placed by AFP "It is incumbent upon the Comelec to ensure that official ballots and other election forms are destroyed after elections such that it cannot be used or reused for any other purposes than what is allowed under the law," Laudiangco added. Angel Averia, chairperson of the Philippine watchdog National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections, also said the TikTok post's caption is misleading (archived link). "Excess, unused ballots are not necessarily evidence of fraud. Comelec holds such an activity after each electoral exercise," she told AFP on June 11. Alexa Yadao, program officer at election monitor Legal Network for Truthful Elections, told AFP on June 18 that destroying the ballots is one of the safeguards "to ensure that they will not be used for other purposes" (archived link). The agency also destroyed unused ballots related to the 2023 village and youth council elections, and the 2022 presidential elections (archived here, here, and here).
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Philippine health agency quashes mpox lockdown rumours
"Don't dismiss this, please share! [The government] is trying to determine if the entire country should be placed on lockdown because of the danger of mpox," reads part of the Tagalog-language caption of a graphic shared on Facebook on May 31, 2025. It bears the logos of the Philippines' Department of Health and the World Health Organization, says the lockdown will start "June 10, 2025" and adds the use of face masks will be mandatory. The Facebook post also includes links to products sold on popular e-commerce sites Shopee and Lazada. Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Facebook, as were similar graphics about a June 6 lockdown purportedly shared by Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN. "Oh no, here we go again, this is scary," read a comment on one of the posts. Another said: "And children are about to go back to school next month at the opening of the school year!" Multiple towns in the central and southern Philippines in May reported cases of mpox, a disease caused by a virus from the same family as smallpox that manifests itself in a high fever and skin lesions (archived here, here and here). But the archipelago's health department says there is no need to restrict the public's movement. According to the agency, the cases reported in May were caused by the mild Clade 2 variant -- not the highly transmissible Clade 1b strain of the virus that has killed hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was also detected in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Sweden (archived here and here). The Department of Health said in a May 31 statement that posts claiming a lockdown was imminent were "fake", and there was no need to restrict movement because mpox is not airborne (archived link). "Lockdown does not work for mpox. Why? Because it is [transmitted via] skin-to-skin contact, so there could be more skin-to-skin contact if there is a lockdown," health chief Ted Herbosa said in a press briefing on May 31 (archived link). Separately, the heath department and the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases said mask mandates imposed by several localities in response to mpox cases were unnecessary and would not prevent the spread of the virus (archived here. here, here and here). There has also been no surge in the number of mpox cases in the country. According to information released by the health department, more cases were recorded in April than in May (archived link). The Philippines has not recorded any cases from Clade 1b. The lockdown graphic purportedly shared by ABS-CBN was also dismissed by the health agency as "fake" on May 31 (archived link). The graphic uses the same background of a genuine graphic shared by the broadcaster on its official Facebook page on May 28, 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic (archived link). The original graphic was about Metro Manila being placed under "General Community Quarantine". AFP has debunked other false claims about mpox here.
AFP
03-06-2025
- Health
- AFP
Philippine health agency quashes mpox lockdown rumours
"Don't dismiss this, please share! [The government] is trying to determine if the entire country should be placed on lockdown because of the danger of mpox," reads part of the Tagalog-language caption of a graphic shared on Facebook on May 31, 2025. It bears the logos of the Philippines' Department of Health and the World Health Organization, says the lockdown will start "June 10, 2025" and adds the use of face masks will be mandatory. The Facebook post also includes links to products sold on popular e-commerce sites Shopee and Lazada. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on June 1, 2025 Similar posts were shared elsewhere on Facebook, as were similar graphics about a June 6 lockdown purportedly shared by Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on June 1, 2025 "Oh no, here we go again, this is scary," read a comment on one of the posts. Another said: "And children are about to go back to school next month at the opening of the school year!" Multiple towns in the central and southern Philippines in May reported cases of mpox, a disease caused by a virus from the same family as smallpox that manifests itself in a high fever and skin lesions (archived here, here and here). But the archipelago's health department says there is no need to restrict the public's movement. No lockdown According to the agency, the cases reported in May were caused by the mild Clade 2 variant -- not the highly transmissible Clade 1b strain of the virus that has killed hundreds of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was also detected in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Sweden (archived here and here). The Department of Health said in a May 31 statement that posts claiming a lockdown was imminent were "fake", and there was no need to restrict movement because mpox is not airborne (archived link). Image Screenshot of the Department of Health statement "Lockdown does not work for mpox. Why? Because it is [transmitted via] skin-to-skin contact, so there could be more skin-to-skin contact if there is a lockdown," health chief Ted Herbosa said in a press briefing on May 31 (archived link). Separately, the heath department and the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases said mask mandates imposed by several localities in response to mpox cases were unnecessary and would not prevent the spread of the virus (archived here. here, here and here). There has also been no surge in the number of mpox cases in the country. According to information released by the health department, more cases were recorded in April than in May (archived link). The Philippines has not recorded any cases from Clade 1b. Repurposed Covid graphic The lockdown graphic purportedly shared by ABS-CBN was also dismissed by the health agency as "fake" on May 31 (archived link). The graphic uses the same background of a genuine graphic shared by the broadcaster on its official Facebook page on May 28, 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared graphic (left) and the ABS-CBN post from May 2020 (right) The original graphic was about Metro Manila being placed under "General Community Quarantine". AFP has debunked other false claims about mpox here.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Posts mispresent budget data to falsely claim Philippines 'out of money'
The claim stems from a May 18, 2025 Tagalog-language Facebook post published by Jay Sonza, a former broadcaster and supporter of former president Rodrigo Duterte who has previously spread misinformation debunked by AFP. Sonza says the Philippine government is "out of money", as 90 percent of the year's national budget -- which stands at a record 6.33 trillion pesos (around US$114 billion) -- had already been "released" by April (archived link). "It's only May, and the government only has 10 percent of its funds left," he adds, pointing to government borrowing in February and April as signs of financial depletion. The claim surfaced a week after the Philippine mid-term elections on May 12, which delivered disappointing results for President Ferdinand Marcos's party (archived link). Seen as a referendum on the current administration, the polls saw only six of the 11 Marcos-endorsed candidates win Senate seats (archived link). They will join 12 incumbent senators as jurors in the impeachment trial of embattled Vice President Sara Duterte, which could see the Marcos rival permanently barred from public office if convicted. The claim has spread in similar posts on Facebook, drawing comments from users who believed the government had indeed depleted its annual budget. "Where did all that money go?" one said. Another commented: "We must hold another People Power to replace them," alluding to the peaceful uprising that toppled the dictatorship of the president's late father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The elder Marcos's 20-year rule left the country impoverished, with an estimated US$10 billion stolen from state coffers (archived link). But multiple experts told AFP the claim misrepresents how the government plans and uses the national budget. Public finance specialist Janet Cuenca of the Ateneo School of Government told AFP on May 27 that the figure cited by Sonza refers to "allotment releases" -- a notice that funding has been reserved for agencies -- and not actual spending (archived link). She said this practice allows agencies to begin planning and committing to expenses, such as signing contracts or hiring staff. They must still provide proper documentation to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) before they are authorised to access the funds. Goddes Hope Libiran, undersecretary of the DBM, said the early release of funds is a "consistent practice" backed by data from the past decade (archived link). "(This) does not mean the funds have been spent or 'used up,'" Libiran told AFP on May 20. "It only means the funds are readily available to agencies so they can implement their specific programs, activities and projects without delay." Data from the Bureau of the Treasury show actual spending from January to April 2025 amounted to 1.21 trillion pesos (US$21.8 billion) -- just under 20 percent of the approved national budget (archived link). Economist Victor Abola of the University of Asia and the Pacific also said the idea that government borrowing early in the year means funds have run dry is "misinformation" (archived link). "The government tries to pre-fund its needs to avoid paying higher interest rates," he told AFP on May 21, explaining that borrowing early helps manage costs when rates are expected to rise later in the year. "It's standard practice to pre-fund, sometimes even in the previous year," he added, noting the national government cannot simply run out of funds because "it can always go to the central bank if needed." The Philippine central bank can help manage cash flow by providing liquidity through reserves or other financing options (archived link). AFP has previously debunked claims about the Philippines' economic standing.
