A quote card circulating online claims that actor Eduardo “Edu” Manzano supposedly urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to resign as he could no longer “save the nation.” This is fake.
Manzano did not make such a remark. In a Facebook post on Oct. 21, the actor debunked the fabricated statement.
On Oct. 20, a Facebook user posted a 15-second reel featuring the quote card containing a photo of Manzano with text below that read:
“KUNG HINDI LANG MAPAKAL ANG MUKHA NG PRESIDENTE.SANA NAMAN UMALIS KANA SA PWESTO MO.HINDI MUNA KAYA E SALBA ANG BAYAN.
“It’s more taxing in the Philippines! But we pay, we stay, we pray – that someday, all these taxes will actually build roads, schools, and dreams. Hanggang doon ay itinatago namin ang aming mga resibo at ang aming pananampalataya.
EDU MANZANO 17 October 2125”
(IF ONLY THE PRESIDENT DIDN’T HAVE SUCH A THICK FACE. You should already step down from your position. You can’t save the country anymore.
It’s more taxing in the Philippines! But we pay, we stay, we pray — that someday, all these taxes will actually build roads, schools, and dreams. Until then, we hold onto our receipts and our faith.
EDU MANZANO 17 October 2125)
The video included a superimposed text that read:
“Kahit sino naman mag4gal!t kung ganito administrasyon. EDU MANZANO GALIT NA SA PANGULO???)
(Anyone would get angry with an administration like this. EDU MANZANO IS NOW ANGRY AT THE PRESIDENT???)
The video featuring the fabricated quote card was shared by a channel on YouTube Shorts.
A quick keyword search of the quote shows that Manzano indeed made a comment about excessive taxes and corruption in the Philippines in a Facebook post on Oct. 16. However, no matching results were found for the first portion of the quote where he allegedly urged the president to step down.
On Oct. 21, Manzano refuted the circulating quote card and clarified that he never made the first part of the statement. He pointed out that only the portion criticizing taxes and corruption was his.
“FAKE NEWS! Never said the encircled quote. All the rest is mine,” he said in an FB post.
The fabricated quote card surfaced following calls for Marcos Jr. to resign amid major corruption scandals involving flood-control projects, in which hundreds of supposedly completed works were found to be substandard or non-existent.
VERA Files has flagged several fake posts featuring public figures supposedly urging the president to step down from his post. (READ: Leni Robredo NOT calling on Marcos Jr. to resign, Sotto NOT calling on BBM, Sara to resign).
Posted by FB page Jolyka Ofw Page (created May 28, 2024), the reel has so far garnered 721,000 views, 1,600 shares, and 849 comments. Another copy posted on YouTube by BangonPilipinasVlog (created Mar 7, 2019) has received 51,000 views, 673 reactions, and 44 comments as of writing.
