Contrary to a claim published on a Facebook (FB) page, Senator Imee Marcos is one of the co-authors of the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act.
A July 3 FB post carried two sets of infographics featuring Marcos and returning Senator Risa Hontiveros. In its caption it called Marcos the “fake author” and Hontiveros the “real author” of the law known as Republic Act (RA) 11861.
This claim is not true. Marcos became one of the co-authors of RA 11861 when a similar bill she filed in 2019, alongside six other bills filed by her Senate colleagues, was consolidated into Senate Bill (SB) 1411. Hontiveros served as the principal sponsor of the bill on the legislative floor.
SB 1411 lapsed into law on June 4 without the signature of former President Rodrigo Duterte, amending several provisions of the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000 or RA 8972.
The new law aims to grant additional benefits to solo parents such as a P1,000 monthly cash assistance, 10% discount on medicines, automatic PhilHealth coverage and more.
Many netizens pointed out the inaccuracy in the post, stating that Marcos is also one of the authors of the law. Still, the erroneous post rapidly gained traction, according to FB’s fact-checking tool.
A few days before the inaccurate post emerged, Marcos published a viral post on her official FB page stating she is the “author” of the newly enacted law. Netizens provided additional context in the comments, saying the law is a work of several senators.
This erroneous post was published by a netizen on FB meme group marco$ meme production : dictators comeback (独裁者、小偷、骗子和凶手) (created on Oct. 31, 2021), garnering more than 4,800 reactions, 160 comments and 9,900 shares.
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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.)
