A 20-second excerpt from Senator Manny Pacquiao’s interview with talk show host Boy Abunda was used to suggest that he is volunteering the “Warays” for a defensive war against China.
This is misleading. In response to Abunda’s question on whether the Philippines could handle a defensive war against China should diplomatic talks fail, the presidential aspirant said:
“Kaya natin, sa loob natin, kaya natin. Malakas ang loob natin, eh. Hindi tayo basta-basta natatakot. Lalo na yung mga may dugong Waray (We can do it, in our hearts we can do it. We have a strong will. We don’t get scared easily. Especially those who have Waray roots.)”
The ‘Warays’ are an ethnolinguistic group living in Samar, Eastern Leyte, and the Biliran Islands who speak the Visayan language. They are known to be feisty.
The misleading clip appeared a day after Pacquiao’s Jan. 28 interview with Abunda, where one of the issues discussed was the country’s territorial dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea. A reader asked VERA Files via Facebook to fact-check the claim.
The misleading video uploaded by YouTube channel Netz Ph Update (created on March 20, 2020), read: “MANNY PACQUIAO NAG VIRAL MGA WARAY ISABAK SA GYERA NG CHINA (Manny Pacquiao went viral, will send Warays to a war [against] China).”
Some netizens who saw the video’s thumbnail uploaded the same day on FB page Netz ph update criticized Pacquiao for the alleged remark, telling him not to involve Warays. They said he should be used as “cannon fodder” instead, while others called him stupid and a devil.
A slightly different version of the Netz Ph Update video was uploaded by TikTok user @we_the_north1, which garnered 2.3 million views, 100,700 likes, and 13,600 comments.
Meanwhile, FB page Netz ph update’s post carrying the video’s thumbnail got 1,800 reactions, 380 comments and 135 shares. The FB page was created on July 9, 2021.
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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.
