Multiple YouTube videos are claiming that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered Sen. Robinhood Padilla to be removed from the Senate, thrown in jail or banished from the country. Not true. There are no such orders from Marcos.
The untrue videos were merely clickbaits that showed clips from a Sept. 12 Senate hearing where Padilla questioned the presence of the United States (U.S.) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), along with unrelated news reports.
First uploaded on Sept. 14, one of the false videos bore the headline:
“BUMALIKTAD SA CHINA! PBBM SINIBAK SI ROBIN! PABOR LUMUSOB AMERICA! PH NAVY SINUPALPAL SI PADILLA (Flips on China! President Bongbong Marcos fires Robin. In favor of America’s attack. The Philippine Navy shoots down Padilla)!”
The video did not provide any evidence to support its claim and only showed clips of Padilla and Sen. Bato dela Rosa from the said hearing where they probed Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) officials over the presence of a U.S. aircraft in resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
A video posted on Sept. 15 repeated the same untrue claim. Its headline read:
“CHINA TATLONG ARAW NA GYERA! PBBM PAYAG TUMULONG AMERICA! TINANGGAL SI ROBIN! SINUPALPAL NG SENADO (Three days of war with China! PBBM in favor of America’s help. Kicks out Robin! Shot down by the Senate)!”
This video also did not show any proof to back its claim. It only played a clip of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri contradicting Padilla at the same hearing and saying that the presence of allies in the WPS would help strengthen the Philippines’ claim to its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.
A week later on Sept. 21, another video claimed that Marcos gave orders to imprison Padilla:
“BUMALIKTAD SA CHINA! PBBM KULONG ANG HATUL! TUDAS SI PADILLA! SIBAK NASA PWESTO! KAKAPASOK LANG (Flips on China! PBBM’s verdict is imprisonment! Padilla is finished! Kicked out from his post! Just in)!”
The video merely featured Padilla’s 2017 speech during an event held at SM North Edsa where he claimed that the artificial islands built in the WPS were not China’s fault. The rest of it played a clip from Karen Davila’s Sept. 14 interview with PCG Spokesperson Jay Tarriela on ANC’s Headstart.
Lastly, on Sept. 24, a video claimed that Padilla was ordered to leave the country. Its thumbnail bore a photo of Marcos, former president Rodrigo Duterte and the senator, along with a text that read: “IKAW PALA ANG TRAYDOR. NASAMPULAN SI ROBIN LUMAYAS KA SA PINAS! (You are a traitor! An example was made out of Robin! Get out of the Philippines)!”
However, the video only showed clips of Sept. 22 and 23 Bombo Radyo news reports, and a commentary from SMNI anchor Mike Abe about Padilla’s criticism of U.S. presence in the WPS.
Uploaded by previously fact-checked YouTube channels Boss Balita TV, BALITA NI JUAN and Philippines Trending News, the series of erroneous videos collectively garnered around 1.2 million views, 20,000 likes and 15,000 comments.
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