A video on social media purports that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos removed Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla from his post. This is not true.
Posted on Facebook (FB) on Jan. 16, the video carried the headline:
“KAPAPASOK LANG! SAWAKAS! PRES MARCOS KINA-USAP nasi SOJ REMULLA nag DISISYON na TANGAL nasa PWESTO (Just in! Finally! Pres Marcos talked to SOJ Remulla, decided to remove from position)!”
The video’s thumbnail bore images of former president Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos and Remulla. It insinuated that Marcos — who previously rejected calls for Remulla’s resignation after the latter’s son got embroiled in an illegal drug possession case — has “shifted gears.”
The text on the thumbnail read:
“PBBM KUMAMBYO NA. ITO ANG MATINDING DISISYON NI PRES MARCOS. TUMIGIL KANA ANG GULO NA (PBBM SHIFTS GEARS. THIS IS THE HARSH DECISION OF PRES MARCOS. STOP NOW IT’S ALREADY A MESS).”
Remulla has not been dismissed. Malacañang issued no such directive, and neither has the Department of Justice announced a change in its leadership.
The video content did not show any evidence to support its claim, nor did it mention Remulla.
A narrator at the beginning only talked about Marcos allegedly “getting blamed” for the “chaos” and “misunderstanding” caused by his appointed officials.
The rest of the video featured netizens’ comments on high onion prices and clips from Bombo Radyo’s Jan. 11 reports on Marcos assisting flood victims in Mindanao and Carlito Galvez Jr. becoming the new defense chief.
The video came out more than a week after Remulla’s son, Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III, was acquitted of an illegal drug possession charge.
VERA Files Fact Check previously debunked a similar false claim that Marcos ordered Remulla to resign. (Read: Marcos DID NOT order Remulla to step down)
The video posted by the FB page New PH Update (created on Dec. 21, 2022) garnered 426 reactions, 42 comments, 48 shares and 3,200 views. YouTube channel Banat Trending Now TV (March 22, 2022) first uploaded the video on Jan. 15 and received 15,682 views.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
