Netizens are circulating a video claiming that the 1987 Constitution provides that a gathering of two million people could trigger the swearing-in of a new president. This is not true.
On Nov. 17, a Facebook user posted a one-minute,12-second aerial footage of the Iglesia ni Cristo-led “Rally for Transparency and a Better Democracy” at the Quirino Grand Stand. A tipline user also sent a link to the false video to the VERA Files Misinformation Tipline for verification.
The video bore the text:
“Ayun sa Saligang Batas Pag umabot ng 2 Milyon ang tao sa Isang Rally Pwede na etong mag Panumpa ng bagong presidente (According to the Constitution, if people in a rally reaches two million this could allow the swearing-in of a new president).”
The post also carried the caption:
“VP Sarah should be take over the Presidency. #MarcosResignNow #bangagadministration (stoned administration) #Corruption #PilipinasGising #WEARENOTPILIPINOFORNOTHING.”
This is false. The Constitution does not have a specific provision on ousting or swearing in a new president through a mass gathering of two million people.
Article VII, Section 4, of the 1987 Constitution states that the country’s president should be elected by a direct vote.
A sitting president can be replaced upon conviction by the impeachment court (Article XI, Section 2), in the event of death, permanent disability and resignation (Article VII, Section 8). The vice president, through the principle of succession, will take over as president should the mentioned events take place.
There is no constitutional provision that allows the swearing-in of a new president once a protest rally attendance reaches two million people.
While people power movements, such as the 1986 EDSA Revolution, is a legitimate way of unseating a president, it is considered “extra-constitutional,” as written in the Supreme Court’s March 2, 2001 decision in Estrada vs. Desierto case.
The false videos circulated on the second day of the recent Iglesia Ni Cristo rally which, according to the religious sect’s website, “emphasized the importance of transparency towards a better democracy.”
Notably, Sen. Imee Marcos spoke at the rally on Nov. 17 where she alleged that her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., along with his wife and children, are drug users, echoing what the Duterte camp has been saying all along.
The INC, however, clarified that the event is a call for transparency and accountability and that “it does not want to bring down the government – only corruption.”
VERA Files has debunked other disinformation related to the INC-led movement.
The video uploaded by a FB user garnered 4,000 reactions, 490 comments, 1,500 shares and 120,000 views as of writing. A copy was also posted on X, formerly Twitter, garnering additional 1,638 engagements.
