FACT-CHECK: Marcos Jr. did not summon military generals to war against China

Oct 5, 2023 | Fact Checked by PressOnePH

CLAIM: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. summoned military generals to war against China. 
RATING: FALSE

 

A TikTok user named “PINOY AKO” falsely claimed on Sept. 24, 2023, that military generals were summoned by the Philippine president to wage war against China.

The false claim was made through the video thumbnail and title in a clickbait style often employed by many fake news purveyors.

The spliced clips from the TikTok video originated from an exchange between Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta and Brig. Gen. Eugene Mata in May 2023, during the confirmation hearing for 49 military officers.

Marcoleta and Mata were talking about a different topic, the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Philippines’s capability to withstand attacks from China in the West Philippine Sea.

“In my opinion, the Philippines cannot defend itself against aggression from external forces, especially the People’s Republic of China, due to the very limited capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” Mata told Marcoleta.

The video has been viewed 472,000 times and shared 141 times. Justine Bautista

Justine Bautista is a Journalism student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and an intern for PressOnePH. This piece was created under the supervision of PressOnePH’s editors.

 

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