Four days after the death of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, a video started circulating on social media alleging he had a secret wife who recently revealed herself to his family. This is a fabrication.
The video posted by Facebook (FB) page Showbiz PH Update and Youtube channel SHOWBIZ TV even blurred a photo of Vice President Leonor “Leni” Robredo to show Noynoy was with a woman. It carried a false headline: “Lumantad na! LIHIM na ASAWA ni NOYNOY AQUINO, NAGSALITA na! KRIS NAGULANTANG (Exposed! Secret wife of Noynoy Aquino, has spoken out! Kris, startled).”
The former chief executive died at 61 on June 24 due to renal disease secondary to diabetes. He died a bachelor, although was romantically linked to some women, according to several news reports.
The video’s thumbnail used a fake quote of Kris Aquino, his younger sister and a social media personality, who allegedly said, “Totoo po sya [sic] ang asawa ni Kuya Noy (It is true that she is the wife of my brother Noy).”
“Ayon sa kanila, inilihim daw ni Noynoy ang pag-aasawa niya nang sa gayon ay malayo ito sa anumang isyu…Pabor naman daw ‘yon sa asawa ni Noynoy dahil naging tahimik daw ang pagsasama nila (According to them, Noynoy made his marriage a secret to distance themselves from issues…His wife agreed to it because their union had been quiet),” the video erroneouly claimed.
But the narrator added a disclaimer towards the end by saying, “Kung totoo naman daw ang kumakalat na balita, sana naman daw ay tulungan ng Aquino family ang naulilang asawa ni Noynoy (If the circulating news was true, it is hoped that the Aquino family would help the wife who is now alone).”
The second half of the clip played footage of Aquino’s funeral in Heritage Park posted by Kris on her Instagram account on June 28, the same day the false video was posted.
The video went viral with over a million views on FB. Showbiz PH Update has 42,085 followers. It was created on March 26, 2020.
SHOWBIZ TV’s video was viewed nearly 75,000 times. The channel was made on Mar. 30, 2019.
This is not the first time both the page and channel have been flagged for spreading disinformation (See VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Video of Kris Aquino saying she’ll sue hospital where PNoy died is FAKE).
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
