FACT CHECK: Jay Sonza misleads on Marcos drug test claim

Former broadcaster Jay Sonza has claimed Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) and its television network NET25 have urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to undergo a hair follicle drug test following the circulation online of an allegedly fabricated video of him snorting white powder.

This is misleading. Neither the INC nor NET25 has issued any statement on Marcos’ alleged drug use, but SAGIP Party-List Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, a prominent INC member, did so.

STATEMENT

Sonza said in a July 29 Facebook post:

“Balita ko pati ang IGLESIA ay nanawagan na rin na sumailalim sa ‘hair strand drug test‘ si Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Nadinig ko rin na maging ang NET25 ay humihiling na rin kay PBBM na sumailalim sa ‘hair follicle drug testing‘ para magkaroon ng linaw ang nasabing usapin.

IT’S ABOUT TIME.

(I gathered that even the Iglesia has been calling on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to undergo a ‘hair strand drug test.’ I also heard that NET25 is also asking PBBM to subject himself to ‘hair follicle drug testing’ to shed light on this issue.)”

Source: Jay Sonza Facebook page, Balita ko pati ang IGLESIA…, July 29, 2024

FACT

Neither the INC nor its leaders have issued any kind of statement calling on Marcos to undergo a hair follicle drug test. NET25 management has not made any such call either.

However, Rep. Marcoleta called for Marcos’ drug test in the July 26 episode of his NET25-aired show titled Sa Ganang Mamamayan.

“Kung drug test ang kinakailangan, palagay ko kailangan ay sumailalim ang ating pangulo sa drug test,” he said.

(If a drug test is needed, in my opinion the president must undergo a drug test.)

Marcoleta’s co-host, Genycil Subardiaga, also said, “Ang sagot na lang talaga diyan, walang iba kundi drug test, para mapabulaanan mo” in order for the president to dispel rumors about his alleged drug abuse.

(The response to that would really be a drug test to prove them wrong.)

Hours before the president’s third State of the Nation Address on July 22, a video of a man resembling Marcos seen snorting a powder-like substance was shown at a Hakbang ng Maisug rally in Los Angeles, California.

The video has since been debunked by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police. A Rappler fact-check has also stated that the video was manipulated by generative AI tools.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is strongly associated with the organizers of the Maisug rally and has made several appearances across its run, claimed that the campaign’s national leadership had no say in the release of the footage.

However, Duterte has called on Marcos to undergo a hair follicle drug test to dispel claims about his supposed use of illegal drugs.