Archive - FACT CHECK

Malacañang has noted that “clear evidence” shows the jabs provide added protection against the novel coronavirus.

Neither has she encouraged the former senator to "file a case" against oligarchs "destroying his name and reputation."

In an email to VERA Files Fact Check, the Philippine Navy said it does not have any submarines in its fleet inventory.

Vice presidential candidate Willie Ong said in a health vlog that the common cold and the Omicron and Delta variants of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be determined through the symptoms experienced by patients. This needs context.

The fabricated graphic first appeared in April 2019 and was revived this January.

Instead, a health expert recommended lagundi which has been developed by local researchers for use against cough and asthma.

This is false. An investigation into the alleged hacking is still in progress.

The local laws that the ad cited to justify these arguments contradict these assertions.

The claim of Edsel Maurice Salvana, an infectious diseases doctor, that there is “science” behind the use of face shields as a defense against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), lacks context.

In some parts of the country, people reported a “temporary shortage” of paracetamol brands and flu medication in local pharmacies following a sudden surge in the number of flu-like illnesses and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections after Christmas and due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

Discouraging Filipinos to vote for opposition senator and vice presidential aspirant Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, President Rodrigo Duterte again made false claims about the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act that the former had authored.

The original video showing Robredo talking behind a face mask is spliced with audio of an unidentified woman’s voice.

While it is true that COVID-19 vaccines have risks of complications, “severe or life-threatening reactions are extremely rare” according to the Department of Health’s (DOH) Frequently Answered Questions page.

The DOH affirmed there is no clear distinction in the symptom profiles of an earlier coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection from other virus variants and influenza.

There are no official documents, statements or news reports saying the vice president has spent P500 million in campaign ads for this election where she is running for president.

But while vagrancy is not a crime, government officials clarified that vagrants, who violate local government ordinances or commit offenses under the Revised Penal Code, can still be arrested.

VERA Files fact-checked each claim made in the erroneous Jan 3 post.

President Rodrigo Duterte again wrongly claimed, during his Jan. 4 “Talk to the People” address, that the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are “white.”

His group has also claimed that the pandemic is not real and alleged the vaccine is killing people

Former broadcaster Jay Sonza incorrectly claimed that a daughter of Vice President Leni Robredo skipped community quarantine after arriving from abroad and later testing positive for COVID-19.

Robredo answered 14 out of 18 questions correctly.

A former special adviser to the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 shared a false graphic that lists different symptoms supposedly from an infection with the Omicron virus variant. It surfaced as the country grappled with a post-holiday surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

This post is fake. Don't believe it.

There was no such filing, but several netizens believed otherwise and failed to recognize that the post was satire.

The government has not placed any part of the country under such a strict status recently.

Two days before the nation welcomes another year, Filipinos will commemorate Jose Rizal’s execution on Dec. 30, which the late president Emilio Aguinaldo first declared a holiday on Dec. 20, 1898.

Publishers of disinformation were at full throttle this year in their production of inaccurate election-related posts — most of which circulated to either prop up or attack certain political aspirants even before the official start of the campaign period for next year’s national polls.

Humor is ingrained in the psyche of many Filipinos. It helps diffuse tension when discussing controversial topics such as politics or social issues. But others see it as an opportunity to sublimely ridicule a person or a group for a matter involving them; taking offense is unwise because “talo ang pikon (sore loser),” so they say.

This year, a worrisome trend in local disinformation from YouTube channels became more prominent. It takes only one YouTube video uploaded across social media channels to be a super-spreader of misinformation.

With only six months left before he steps down as the country’s 16th president, Rodrigo Duterte and his key officials continue to leave a trail of inconsistencies blurring major policy issues.