A clip of President Ferdinand Marcos posted on social media supposedly ordering the teaching of masturbation to four-year-olds was taken out of context. The president was actually opposing such inclusions in sex education in his full statement.
On Feb. 27, a TikTok user uploaded a 17-second video of Marcos seemingly advocating the inclusion of masturbation and sexual exploration in sex education for four-year-olds. The video carried the text:
“MATINO BA TONG LEADER NATIN? GANONG KA SEGURO ANO OR PAGLABAS MO PALANG SA SINAPUPUNAN NAGSALSAL AGAD!! OK KA LANG 4 YEARS OLD? BANGAG KA NGA TALAGA.
(Is our leader sane? That is how you may have been or right after you came out of the womb you were already masturbating!! Are you sure, 4 years old? You are really an addict.)”
In the circulating clip, Marcos’ first line was:
“You will teach four-year-olds how to masturbate, that every child has the right to try different sexualities…”
This was taken out of context, given that the next thing he said was:
“This is ridiculous. It is abhorrent. It is a travesty of what sexual and sex education should be to the children.”
In his full statement, Marcos was criticizing a pending bill in the Senate which he thought would encourage masturbation and “[try] on different sexualities” among children.
In a News5 interview clip on Jan. 20, Marcos opposed Senate Bill No. 1979, or the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill, based on wrong information.
“Over the weekend, I finally read in detail Senate Bill 1979. And I was shocked and I was appalled by some of the elements of that. Because this is… all this woke that they are trying to bring into our system, you will teach four-year-olds how to masturbate, that every child has the right to try different sexualities. This is ridiculous. It is abhorrent. It is a travesty of what sex education should be to the children,” Marcos said.
While the president acknowledged the importance of sex education, he said:
“Pero ‘yung mga sinama nila na mga woke absurdities are abhorrent to me and I’m already guaranteeing, hindi pa napasa ito, pero if this bill is passed in that form, I guarantee all parents, teachers and children, I will immediately veto it.
(But the woke absurdities they included [in the bill] are abhorrent to me and I’m already guaranteeing, it hasn’t been passed yet, but if this bill is passed in that form, I guarantee all parents, teachers and children, I will immediately veto it.)”
VERA Files has debunked this statement by Marcos that was based on wrong information. The bill has no such provisions for teaching “masturbation” and “trying different sexualities.” These claims came from a video advertorial produced by the National Coalition for the Family and the Constitution, pushing back against comprehensive sexuality education.
The video circulated five days after former president Rodrigo Duterte accused Marcos of veering towards a dictatorship, which the Palace had dismissed as a “hoax.”
VERA Files has flagged other clips of the president that circulated out of context.
The clip uploaded by TikTok user @hdxowagq garnered 2,197 reactions, 1,793 comments, 1,541 shares and 196,000 views. A copy uploaded by a Facebook (FB) user also received 48 reactions, 36 comments, 56 shares and 9,500 views. Other copies of out-of-context clips from the interview also circulated last January.
