Several Facebook posts are claiming to show the completed undersea tunnel connecting Batangas and Mindoro. These are fake. The images were generated using artificial intelligence.
No such undersea tunnel linking the two Luzon provinces exists.
A Google reverse image search shows that the photos are actually based on the architectural renders and aerial photographs of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, specifically its undersea tunnel sections and artificial islands.
Upon verification through AI-detection tool Hive Moderation, the photos were found likely to have been AI-generated, with percentages ranging from 94.6% to 99.8%.
Mindoro-Batangas Super Bridge
While there is an actual proposed project connecting the two provinces, it is not envisioned as an undersea tunnel but a 15-km floating pontoon bridge, a specialized design intended to protect the marine biodiversity of the Isla Verde Passage .
The proposed bridge would start from Barangay Ilijan in Batangas City, pass through Isla Verde, and land in Barangay Sinandigan in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro.
Cost estimates for the project have fluctuated over the years, ranging from an initial P18 billion in 2015 to over P53 billion in more recent unsolicited Public-Private Partnership proposals.
First proposed in 2011 by then–Oriental Mindoro Governor Alfonso Umali Jr., the project aims to eliminate transportation hurdles for agricultural products moving from Mindoro to Metro Manila.
There is no record that the actual construction has begun, let alone completed. Over the years, the has only undergone various feasibility studies but never moved past the planning stage.
The most recent legitimate development regarding the project was in April 2023, when San Miguel Corporation expressed renewed interest.
The misleading post surfaced on April 3, weeks after the Department of Public Works and Highways confirmed its infrastructure priorities for the region.
Reposted by several users, the posts have cumulatively reached 7,523 reactions, 1,275 comments, and 667 shares.
Editor’s note: This fact check was produced with the help of a journalism student from Bicol University as part of their internship at VERA Files.
