A video circulating on TikTok and Facebook (FB) claims that suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo was asked to sing “Lupang Hinirang” and “Bahay Kubo” in a Senate hearing to prove she is Filipino. This is fake.
The video was digitally manipulated. Guo was never asked to sing either the national anthem or the popular Filipino folk song to validate her citizenship.
Uploaded on June 2, the 30-second video bore a superimposed text that read: “Mayor Alice Pinakanta ng bahay kubo (was asked to sing Bahay Kubo).”
At the 8-second mark, a voiceover could be heard saying:
“Sinabi mo sa amin na isa kang Pilipino at hindi ka spy, tama? Sige nga, kung tunay ka ngang Pilipino, kantahin mo ang Lupang Hinirang at Bahay Kubo
(You told us that you’re Filipino and that you’re not a spy, right? If you’re really a Filipino, sing Lupang Hinirang and Bahay Kubo).”
The said voiceover was not present in the original footage taken from a Senate livestream of a May 7 hearing which Guo attended.
The voice was digitally added to replace that of Sen. Risa Hontiveros who asked the mayor why her birth records were registered late.
Guo then responded to Hontiveros, saying:
“Ah, your honor hindi ko lang po siya masyadong maalala po ngayon. Okay lang ah.. ah check ko po (Your honor, I can’t remember it well right now. Is it okay if I check it first)?”
The video went viral after the Ombudsman slapped Guo with a preventive suspension of up to six months pending an investigation into graft complaints filed against her by the Department of Interior and Local Government.
VERA Files Fact Check has debunked several claims involving the controversial mayor in the past weeks.
The fake video was previously debunked by FactRakers but is continuously getting traction online. As of writing, it has over 12.6 million views, 638,300 likes and 11,100 comments on TikTok. FB page Bida Ka Dito also reposted the clip garnering 3.5 million views, 53,000 reactions, 6,000 comments and 11,000 shares.
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(Editor's Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)