A video of slain journalist Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa, where he appears to be expressing support for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, is misleading netizens.
On Oct. 8, a vlogger posted a video on Facebook (FB) claiming Lapid was not a critic but a “solid supporter” of Marcos.
The vlogger said: “Na ang pinapakalat po ng media, ‘yung mga nagbabalita na iba diyan, na ito si Percy Lapid ay kritiko daw ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos. Kaya si Pangulong Bongbong Marcos ang itinuturo. Ngayon pala, solid pala itong nakasuporta kay Pangulong Bongbong Marcos at may video po ngayon na kumakalat ngayon sa social media, na bagong video mismo, bago ‘yung nangyari sa kanya
(That what the media is spreading, the others who are reporting, is that this Percy Lapid is a critic of President Bongbong Marcos. That’s why they’re pointing at President Bongbong Marcos. Now, it turns out that he is a solid supporter of President Bongbong Marcos, and there is a video being shared on social media, a new video, prior to his attack).”
The vlogger played a 36-second clip of Lapid saying that if someone were to wrest power from Marcos, he would side with the president:
“Kung darating ang sandali na aagawin nila ang pwesto kay Bongbong Marcos, aba’y kakampihan ko si Bongbong Marcos, ‘yan ang tandaan ninyo
(If the time comes that they will seize the position from Bongbong Marcos, then I will side with Bongbong Marcos, that’s what you must remember).”
It is misleading. Lapid did not say he was a “solid supporter” of Marcos in the video. What he said was if he had to choose, he would opt for a Marcos presidency over another Duterte presidency.
The 36-second clip is a snippet from the Sept. 26 episode of Lapid Fire, the slain journalist’s radio program that is also aired on YouTube.
In the episode that was the source of the clip, Lapid was commenting on a Chinese-Filipino group supporting the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), citing POGO-related crimes and corruption. He noted that former President Rodrigo Duterte did not ban POGOs because of their contribution to government revenues. The broadcaster added that he would support Marcos’ presidency if this meant preventing another Duterte leadership.
At minute 21:22 of the video, Lapid said:
“Kung darating ang sandali na aagawin nila ang pwesto kay Bongbong Marcos, aba’y kakampihan ko si Bongbong Marcos, ‘yan ang tandaan ninyo. Sapagkat hindi na kailanpaman dapat maulit na isa pang Duterte ang maupo. Lalaki yung nanggaling, edi mas grabe kung babae, mga kaibigan. Kung darating ‘yon, eh papanig ako kay Marcos para lamang hindi magtagumpay ang anumang masamang binabalak na muling mailuklok sa pwesto ang isa pang Duterte.
(If the time comes that they will seize the post from Bongbong Marcos, then I will side with Bongbong Marcos, remember that. Because it should never happen again that another Duterte sits in that position. The previous one was a man, it will be worse if it’s a woman, my friends. However, if that happens, I will stand with Marcos so that whatever evil plan to have another Duterte in power will not succeed.)”
Netizens were made to think that Lapid declared he was a Marcos supporter, while another FB page reposting the snippet claimed Lapid chose Marcos over former vice president Leni Robredo.
The video was uploaded five days after the hard-hitting broadcaster was shot dead in Las Piñas City. The National Capital Region Police Office is currently investigating the slay case.
The FB post by previously fact-checked vlogger JaLyn Charita (created on March 22, 2020) has garnered 487,000 views, 28,000 reactions, 4,200 comments and 15,000 shares. It was also reposted on their YouTube channel JaLyn Charita Talks (April 29, 2020). The clip was also used by the page PBBM Blog TV (Nov. 19, 2021) to mislead. The snippet was first uploaded by the page The Imperial Patriarch (June 28, 2017).
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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.)
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