A YouTube video circulating online is claiming that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has resigned from his post and that Vice President Sara Duterte will take over. This is not true.
On April 24, a YouTube channel published a 29-minute,18-second video which carried a thumbnail with the following text:
“RES1GN NA? PBBM NAGBIT1W NA! BEBE EM IS OUT! VP SARA IS IN
(Resign already? PBBM has quit! BBM is out! VP Sara is in)!”
The video bore a title:
“HETO NA! SAWAKAS! BEBE EM BINIG-LA ang LAHAT! DI KINAYA ang PR3SSURE VP SARA DUTERTE WILL TAKE 0VER
(Here it is! Finally! BBM shocked everyone! He couldn’t handle the pressure, VP Sara Duterte will take over).”
Marcos is still the country’s president and Duterte, the vice president. No announcement from Malacanang or the Presidential Communications Office has been made about any resignation. Moreover, such a move would have received wide coverage from major news outlets.
The clip merely mentioned an order from the Supreme Court directing Marcos and Executive Secretary Ralph Recto to respond within 10 days to a petition calling on the president to undergo medical examinations, including a hair follicle drug test. Nowhere in the entirety of the video did the creator mention about Marcos stepping down.
The erroneous post surfaced amid the political tensions involving the country’s two highest officials. It circulated amid rumors that the president has a serious illness, which have been debunked by Marcos himself. It also coincides with the ongoing proceedings on the impeachment case against Duterte, which could lead to her removal from office and disqualification.
As of writing, the video posted by YouTube channel Pinas Balita TV (created March 22, 2022) has so far garnered 7,800 views; 479 likes; and 68 comments.
