A quote card posted by a Facebook page is claiming that newly appointed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of Vice President Sara Duterte is the country’s “problem” rather than the recent spate of disasters and calamities. This is satire.
Published on Oct. 8, the FB post had a graphic with photos of Remulla and Duterte and text that read:
“HINDI LINDOL, SUNOG AT BAHA ANG PROBLEMA NATIN KUNDI YUNG SALN NI VP SARA. (Our problem is not earthquakes, fires, or floods but VP Sara’s SALN.)
– Boying Remulla”
Since his appointment as Ombudsman on Oct. 7, Remulla has not made any statement or reference to the vice president’s SALN.
In his first media briefing shortly after being appointed, the former justice secretary said he will review the report of the House of Representatives on the alleged misuse of the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education when Duterte was secretary.
On the issue of access to the SALNs of government officials, the incoming Ombudsman said his office will establish guidelines for releasing these documents in line with the Data Privacy Act. Former Ombudsman Samuel Martires restricted public access to SALNs through Memorandum Circular No. 1, Series of 2020.
The FB page included a disclaimer in the post stating that it was satire and urged the public not to believe it.
Despite this, Remulla drew flak in the comment section from netizens who thought the remark was real. Several other pages and users also republished the quote card without labeling it as satire.
The spurious post surfaced a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Remulla as Ombudsman to serve until 2032. The outgoing Justice secretary took his oath on Oct. 9 before Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen.
Originally published by FB page Flash Report (created as Wow magic on Feb. 13, 2018), the satire post has so far garnered 93,000 reactions, 32,800 comments and 6,200 shares. Reposts by at least two other pages and two users have collectively received 2,148 interactions as of writing.
