A YouTube video claims that the Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to arrest President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. This is not true.
Uploaded on Nov. 30, the video bore the headline:
“MARCOS IPINA-ARESTO NG SUPREME COURT SA AFP! DI BINALITA SA MEDIA (Marcos was ordered arrested by the Supreme Court through the AFP! Not reported by the media).
There is no such order from the SC to arrest Marcos. And as president, no cases can be filed against Marcos as he enjoys immunity from lawsuits during his term.
In a 2006 decision on a case involving former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the SC ruled that an incumbent president may not be sued in any civil or criminal case. The court added:
“It will degrade the dignity of the high office of the President, the head of State, if he can be dragged into court litigations while serving as such.”
Source: Supreme Court of the Philippines website, “GR NO. 171396, May 03, 2006,” May 3, 2006
Former senior associate justice Antonio Carpio said that a president can only be prosecuted for a criminal act after being “removed from office through impeachment by Congress.”
The video merely played unrelated videos, including a clip of an Oct. 29 press briefer where court spokesperson Camille Ting announced that the SC has issued a temporary restraining order against the further transfer of excess funds from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to the National Treasury.
Marcos was named a respondent in one of the petitions lodged by Bayan Muna party-list related to the PhilHealth fund transfers. The SC has scheduled oral arguments on the petition on Feb. 4 2025.
Uploaded by YouTube channel Super DM (created Feb. 15, 2021), the video has received 683,510 interactions. Facebook users also reposted the link.
The uploader, who describes the channel as a source of entertainment and drama, has posted bank details in the comments section and asked netizens not to skip ads while watching the erroneous video.
