A now-deleted viral Facebook video claimed that former Transportation secretary Vince Dizon ordered the closure of major online selling platforms in the Philippines. This is false and Dizon’s statement was taken out of context.
In an advisory issued on Sept. 4, the DOTr said it is not shutting down e-commerce platforms like Shopee, Lazada, Facebook Marketplace, Carousell, and TikTok.
The inaccurate video, posted on Sept. 3, carried an overlaid text that read:
“Patay na rider neto
Shopee lazada tiktok Shutdown na
(Riders will suffer
Shopee, Lazada, TikTok have shut down)”
It also carried a caption that stated:
“Dahil sa mga beepcard na scammer pati shope Lazada tiktok madadamay pa
(Because of the scammer selling beep cards, even Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok might get affected.)”
At least two other FB pages have republished the video, with one even urging netizens to “make the most of it and order now” as the following online marketplaces “will soon be gone.”
In the video, Dizon could be heard saying:
“Susulat kami ngayon, together with the [Philippine National Police] and kami [DOTr], susulatan namin ang Lazada, Shopee, TikTok, Facebook, Carousell, lahat ‘to susulatan namin, directing them to shut down these sites. Pinapa-shut down natin ‘to. At ‘pag hindi sila nag-shut down, pati ‘yung mga online selling [platforms] na ‘to, papakasuhan ko din. Kasi kinukunsinte nila ‘yung mga ilegal na activities online.
(We will write today, together with the PNP and us [DOTr], we will write to Lazada, Shopee, TikTok, Facebook, Carousell—all of them—directing them to shut down these sites. We are ordering these to be shut down. And if they do not comply, I will also file cases against these online selling platforms because they are tolerating illegal activities online.)”
The DOTr clarified that the video circulating online was referring to the closure of unauthorized online sellers and hoarders of Beep cards, which are used to pay fares on railway services such as the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 and Metro Rail Transit Line 3.
The video is a clip from the press conference on Aug. 26, where Dizon and the PNP-Anti-Cybercrime Group presented a suspect arrested in an entrapment operation for selling Beep cards through social media for P200, instead of its actual price of P30.
The transportation department urged commuters and netizens to be critical of what they read online and to immediately report those spreading false information, who may face legal action.
The false video emerged more than a week after the DOTr asked online selling applications Carousell, Lazada, Meta Philippines, Shopee, and TikTok to take down unauthorized sellers and prohibit any future attempts to post similar listings of Beep cards on their platforms by Aug. 31.
Originally uploaded by FB user Jay-ar Pastrana (created on Nov. 17, 2014), the now-deleted video has garnered over 30,000 reactions, 22,700 comments, and 17 million views as of Sept. 6. Another FB page, RYE MOTO (created on Feb. 10, 2024), republished the video, which has since received 23,175 interactions. Other copies have been reposted on TikTok and Instagram.
