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FACT CHECK

​VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Story claiming Aquino admin stole budget for youth rehab centers FALSE

Website dutertenews4network.com falsely claimed in its story that the Aquino administration had stolen P400 million meant for the construction of local youth rehabilitation centers or Bahay Pag-Asa.

The erroneous Jan. 28 report was headlined:

“400 MILLION BUDGET NG BAHAY PAG ASA KINURAP NG PNOY ADMIN (400 million budget for Bahay Pag-Asa Stolen by P-Noy Admin)”

It does not reflect its content — a pirated 11-minute clip from CNN Philippines’ two-and-a-half-hour live feed of the Jan. 25 Senate hearing on the lowering of the minimum age for criminal responsibility (MACR). In the footage, senators and stakeholders were discussing how local government units should lead in the establishment of Bahay Pag-Asa in their areas, assisted by the P400-million funding for juvenile justice welfare under Republic Act 10630.

There was no mention of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino or corruption in the video which was uploaded by Youtube channel TOKHANG TV. VERA Files Fact Check has previously flagged several false and misleading videos from this channel.

Dutertenews4network.com published its false story the same day the House of Representatives passed a bill seeking to lower the MACR from 15 to 12 years old. The Senate is currently deliberating on two counterpart measures.

The false story could have reached more than 457,000 people, with Facebook pages (vf)DDS/ DIEHARD DUTERTE SUPPORTERS, CRUELTY OF NOYNOY “ABNOY” AQUINO AND HIS GOVERNMENT, and Tulfo Brothers Worldwide generating the most social media engagements to the story.

Dutertenews4network.com was created on June 6, 2017.

(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)