A quote card circulating online claims that House prosecutor Joel Chua said congressmen do not care if the country’s funds run dry as long as they convict Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial. This is fake.
Since Sept. 12, several Facebook users have shared a social media card bearing a photo of Chua and his supposed statement about the impeachment costs. The graphic bore this text:
“Wala kaming pakialam kahit maubos ang pera ng Pilipinas dahil ang goal naming mga Congressman ay mapatalsik talaga si VP Sara sa puwesto at ikulong ang mga kapatid niya.
REP. JOEL CHUA SA PANANAGUTAN NG MGA CONGRESSMAN SA ‘GHOST’ FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS
(We don’t care if the Philippines’ funds run dry because our goal as congressmen is to oust VP Sara from office and have her siblings imprisoned.
REP. JOEL CHUA ON THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF CONGRESSMEN ON ‘GHOST’ FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS).”
Several users have reposted the fake graphic and criticized the legislator.
There is no official record or legitimate report of Chua making this statement.
The original quote card (see archive here) came from the FB page The Leader I Want showing Chua’s statement on the congressmen’s accountability in the flood control scandal. The statement in the graphic was altered to fool netizens.
During a PRTV interview with lawyer Jess Falcis, Chua discussed the ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate and the issue of ‘ghost’ flood control projects involving some congressmen. Chua did not say anything about the impeachment costs in the interview.
Three days before the fake quote circulated, Chua stressed that the prosecution has a strong case against the vice president, whether or not she personally appears and answers the allegations before the impeachment court.
VERA Files has debunked other disinformation related to Duterte’s impeachment trial, including false claims about proceedings’ costs.
At least 15 copies of the fake quote posted by FB users collectively garnered 49,000 reactions; 17,513 comments; and 5,046 shares.
