FACT CHECK | Vlogger’s YouTube claims Duterte had paid back all of Philippines’ debt is misleading

June 7, 2022 , 07:32 PM

(June 7, 2022) – In a viral YouTube post made by a vlogger, it was claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte had paid back all of the Philippines’ outstanding debts after the government recently settled its P300-billion loan to the country’s central bank ahead of the deadline.

The vlogger claimed that this was the first time this happened in the Philippines because most of Duterte’s predecessors have been “corrupt.”

The news of the P300-billion debt is true, but the figure is just part of the trillions of pesos of the Duterte government had incurred since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, The outstanding debt was estimated by the Bureau of the Treasury at P12.76 trillion as of April this year. The claim in the viral YouTube video made by a vlogger is misleading.

CLAIM:

A YouTube account named “Mimaa” published last May 22 a video blog titled “WALA NANG UTANG ANG PILIPINAS! BINAYARAN NA NI DUTERTE! KASO HINDI BINALITA NG ABS, GMA, RAPPLER,” claiming that President Rodrigo Duterte has paid back all of the Philippines’ debt.

The vlogger had pointed at news reports of SMNI News and Manila Bulletin quoting Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez that the government has fully paid its P300 billion debt with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

She said this was the first time the Philippines paid back all of its debts supposedly because all preceding presidents have been corrupt except for Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“First time talaga in the history kasi biruin niyo, akala ko hindi makakaya, guys, e. Kasi biruin niyo, naabutan tayo ng pandemic, tapos may Build, Build Build pa, yung health sector natin, yung kalusugan natin, vaccination, binabayaran yan,” Mimaa said in the video.

She added that news organizations GMA, ABS-CBN, and Rappler are allegedly biased for failing to cover this news.

RATING: MISLEADING

FACTS:

The news about the central bank’s debt being repaid is true.Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez confirmed the news report. However, P300 billion is only a small drop in the country’s outstanding debt of P12.76 trillion, as estimated by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) as of the end of April this year.

It is also worth noting that the country’s outstanding debt even doubled from P5.9 trillion when Duterte took office in June 2016.

The vlogger was also partially false in claiming that the three aforementioned news organizations did not cover the news: ABS-CBN and GMA did publish articles on the finance department’s update. Rappler did not publish the story on its website, although this does not necessarily suggest media bias.

Moreover, the claim that Marcos Sr. was the only Philippine president who was not corrupt is false – the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has already retrieved P171 billion in ill-gotten wealth from the late dictator, his family, and his associates, and is still running after P125 billion more. The Supreme Court also ruled that the late dictator had amassed wealth beyond his means.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

The YouTube vlog garnered over 52,000 views, 4,800 likes, and 760 comments as of writing. The vlogger Mimaa is also followed by 103,000 subscribers on the video platform. (MM)

News5 is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space, and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested to join the initiative, e-mail info@factsfirst.ph. Message News 5’s Facebook page if you want to have any claims fact-checked. Read our fact-checking policy here.

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