A YouTube video claims that Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio revealed First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos’ alleged ties to onion smugglers. This is false. Duterte-Carpio has made no such statement.
Posted on Feb. 8, the video bore the headline:
“JUSKO PO! PBBM DELIKADO sa MATINDING IBINUNYAG VPSARA DI NA NAKAPAG-PIGIL IBINUNYAG LIZA SMUGGLING (OH MY GOD! PBBM IN DANGER with SERIOUS REVELATION VP SARA COULDN’T RESTRAIN HERSELF REVEALED LIZA SMUGGLING).”
The thumbnail features photos of Duterte-Carpio and journalist Ramon Tulfo juxtaposed with images of Araneta-Marcos and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Duterte-Carpio’s photo was edited to make it appear that she was holding the evidence — a 2016 photo of the first lady’s brother Martin Araneta with businessman Michael Ma.
The thumbnail also carried the text:
“VPSARA GINULAT SI LIZA. ITO ANG NAKAKAGULAT NA PAGBUBUNYAG ITO ANG EBIDENSYA (VPSARA SHOCKED LIZA. THIS IS THE SHOCKING REVELATION. THIS IS THE EVIDENCE).”
This claim is not true. Duterte did not release any statement exposing Marcos-Araneta’s alleged links to onion smuggling.
The video used a clickbait headline and thumbnail and did not show any evidence.
It only played audio clips from a Jan. 31 Bombo Radyo report on Marcos commending the Department of Education and a vlogger discussing Tulfo’s allegations that Martin Araneta is involved in smuggling.
Tulfo, in a series of Facebook posts on Jan. 29, claimed that the first lady’s brother is a partner of Ma.
On Jan. 23, Rep. Horacio Suansing requested the House Committee on Ways and Means led by Rep. Joey Salceda to issue subpoenas to Ma and nine other individuals allegedly involved in large-scale agricultural smuggling.
The planned Jan. 30 hearing was canceled and is still on hold. Sen. Imee Marcos also called for the hearing’s continuation in a Jan. 31 statement.
On Feb. 6, Salceda explained that after consulting with House Speaker Martin Romualdez, his committee decided to give way to the Committee on Agriculture and Food’s separate public inquiry on onion prices and agricultural smuggling.
The vice president has not made any statement regarding the hearings.
Duterte-Carpio and Araneta-Marcos were seen together during President Marcos’ departure ceremony for his official visit to Japan, the same day the video was uploaded.
YouTube channel PH NEWS TV’s (created on April 9, 2020) post garnered 76,121 views. Several netizens also shared the video link on Facebook.
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