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VERA FILES FACT CHECK: NO Marcos gold in Philippines-Australia meeting agenda

The meeting between Bongbong Marcos and the Australian prime minister in September 2023 had something to do with retrieving the Marcos family’s gold being kept in Australia.

YouTube channel PweDelie TV 09/08/2023 False

There is no basis for the claim that the Marcos family has gold reserves in Australia. The video is no more than a clickbait. It merely played clips of activities related to Albanese’s state visit to the Philippines on Sept. 8.

On the day President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Malacañang, a YouTube video implied that their meeting had something to do with retrieving the Marcos family’s purported gold being kept in Australia. Not true.

While there is no basis for the claim that the Marcos family has gold reserves in Australia, the video is no more than a clickbait. It merely played clips of activities related to Albanese’s state visit to the Philippines on Sept. 8. Not one supports the headline that read:

“OMG MARCOS ACCOUNT SA AUSTRALIA HETO NA! NAKU PO LIDER NG AUSTRALIA LUMAPIT NA KAY PBBM (Oh my god! The Marcos account in Australia is finally here! Oh my the leader of Australia has approached President Bongbong Marcos).”

The video’s thumbnail also showed a concocted photo of Marcos and Albanese with stacks of gold bars behind them. 

Albanese’s visit, the first by an Australian government leader in 20 years, involved the signing  of a strategic partnership agreement meant to strengthen bilateral cooperation in matters related to defense and maritime security, counter-terrorism and law enforcement, according to the Presidential Communications Office.

Marcos and Albanese also discussed partnerships in climate action, education, development, and people-to-people exchanges. There was no talk on the unproven claims that Marcos keeps gold in Australia.

At the 0:17 mark, the erroneous video also showed a supposed 1962 trust certificate bearing the logos of the Central Bank of the Philippines (CBP) and Westpac Banking Corporation, claiming that gold was purportedly deposited under Marcos Sr.’s name. 

The baseless document mentions the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which would not be established until 1993, or more than 30 years after the alleged certificate was issued. The BSP is the institution that replaced the CBP. 

Uploaded by verified YouTube channel PweDelie TV, the video has so far received 54,173 views, 3,100 likes and 288 comments. Netizens also shared the link on Facebook.

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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.)