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Presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos visits Meycauayan, Bulacan for a campaign event on March 8, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News
MANILA - Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wants fact-checkers "with some agenda" removed, as he reiterated in an interview that aired Monday his claim that he is a victim of fake news.
“Meron naman tayong tinatawag na fact-checker. Pero yung mga fact-checker naman kung minsan ay may sariling agenda. Kaya't finafact-check lang nila yung one side of the story. Yung kabila, hindi nila ginagawa,” Marcos said in the One PH and Go Negosyo's KandidaTalks interview.
(We have fact-checkers. But fact-checkers sometimes have their own agenda. They are just fact-checking one side of the story. They don't of the other.)
"Tanggalin natin yung mga ganun," he added.
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(Let's get rid of those.)
"So, gawan natin yung fact-checker na walang agenda, no political agenda, no financial agenda, whatever. Basta, talagang fact-checker lang."
(Let's have fact-checkers that have no agenda, no political agenda, no financial agenda, whatever. Just plain fact-checker.)
Marcos was responding to a question on how he will address the spread of fake news in the Philippines.
Asked by the interview host who he is referring to, Marcos replied, "Kami, biktima kami diyan eh. Finafact-check ako, sinasabing hindi totoo ang sinabi ko. Wala naman akong sinabing gan'on. Pero fake news daw sinabi ko.”
(We are victims of that. I am being fact-checked to say that what I said is not true. But I haven't said the statement being fact-checked. Yet, what I supposedly said is fake news.)
One of Marcos' statements in the past that have been challenged is his claim of getting a diploma from Oxford.
This, even as some sectors accuse the Marcos family of attempting to revise or distort history in their favor.
Marcos' father and namesake was ousted by a bloodless peoples' revolt in February 1986 after being in power since December 1965. That administration was marred by corruption and human rights violations, especially during the imposition of Martial Law from 1972 until 1981.
Last Saturday, Marcos denied he is spreading false information about events under the administration of his father. Back in 2010, he said the country benefited from his father's imposition of martial law, saying, "objective indicators” such as the poverty rate, the Philippines’ international status, and the government’s financial situation at that time show the country was in better days.
In Monday's interview, he asked the public to do their research and read old newspapers about his father.
“Maraming nagtatanong sa akin tungkol sa aking ama… Ano ba talagang nangyari? Sa aking pagkakaalam, ganito yan… Pero huwag lang kayong makinig sa akin dahil may agenda rin ako eh. Ama ko ‘yan eh, siyempre kakampi ko siya,” Marcos said.
(Many ask me about my father... What really happened then? Based on what I know, I say this and that... But don't just listen to me because I have my own agenda. He's my father, therefore I will side with him.)
“Mag-aral kayo. Mag-research kayo. Andaming libro diyan. Andaming nasa internet. Balikan niyo ang mga diyaryo noon. Balikan niyo ang mga nagsusulat noon at tingnan ninyo kung ano talaga ang nangyari para makapag-aral kayo nang mabuti,” he added.
(Study and do your research. There are many books there. Many information are on the internet. Read the newspapers at that time. Go back to those who were writing at that time, and see for yourself what really happened, so you will be properly educated.)
Public records show the administration of his father embezzled as much as $10 billion and committed thousands of rights abuses including torture and killings, some victims of which are still alive today. News outlets were also shut down, while government media controlled the information being released when martial law was declared.
Fact-checking initiative Tsek.ph and media non-profit Vera Files have earlier reported that Vice President Leni Robredo, another presidential candidate in May, is the biggest victim of disinformation while Marcos is the beneficiary of misleading messaging online.
Disinformation and propaganda are playing a part in the popularity of Marcos now among low-income groups, making him the frontrunner to replace President Rodrigo Duterte, a political analyst said last month.
Sought for comment on these observations, Marcos said in Monday's interview: “Ano 'yung fake news namin?... I don't see how that is... Para sa akin, ako nabibiktima ng fake news dahil andami-daming sinasabi sa akin, hindi naman talaga totoo,” he said.
(What fake news did we have?... For me, I am the victim of fake news because so many things have been said about me which are not really true.)
Just as he claims being a victim of fake news, he said he also is of election fraud in the 2016 vice presidential elections, even as the Supreme Court, sitting as electoral tribunal, affirmed the victory of Robredo.
“Kailangan natin tiyakin na maganda ang pagtakbo ng halalan. Nabiktima na ako noong VP eh. Kailangan talaga tutukan ang vote protection na maging accountable at transparent ang proseso ng halalan,” he said.
(The orderly conduct of elections should be ensured. I already became a victim in the vice presidential race. Vote protection should be given attention to, as well as making the process accountable and transparent.)
Marcos' candidacy has been challenged at the Commission on Elections, citing his tax evasion conviction in 1995. Almost all of the petitions have been dismissed, although his critics appealed the decision.
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