A Facebook (FB) page is claiming that Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police (PNP), said people were given free transportation and then paid to attend recent rallies in support of former President Rodrigo Duterte. This is false.
On April 3, the FB page published a 25-second Reel with the caption: “May nag rally pinangakoan (sic) ng 500 Pero 200 lang daw umano ang ibinigay (Those who protested were promised P500 but were only given P200).”
The short video showed various clips taken at different pro-Duterte protests during the former president’s birthday in March. A news report featuring Fajardo then faded into view, where she is seen saying people in the rallies were transported (hinakot) and compensated (binayaran) for joining the protests.
Fajardo never said this about the people who attended the recent rallies.
Fajardo’s soundbite is old and unrelated. It came from a UNTV news report that came out in November last year, about a rally organized in front of the EDSA Shrine in support of Vice President Sara Duterte – amid the then word war between her and President Ferdinand Marcos.
The spurious Reel also omitted crucial context in the news report. Fajardo made it clear these were allegations spreading on social media.
“There are some videos circulating online showing that some of them [the protesters] were allegedly – again, let me reiterate, allegedly – transported from their barangays to the location. They were promised that they were going to be paid and fed,” Fajardo said in a mix of Filipino and English in the uncut press interview published by ANC.
The video with the false claim came out the day Marcos promoted 39 high-ranking PNP officials, including Fajardo and Police Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III – both of whom oversaw Duterte’s March 11 arrest for alleged crimes against humanity.
FB page JNFast Food Gallery (created on July 24, 2023) published the video with the untrue claim, garnering over 36,200 reactions, 38,800 comments, 11,000 shares and 5.1 million views.
