#NasaanAngPangulo challenged #WalangPasok as the top social media trend on Tuesday, September 3, as rumors circulated online that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had been rushed to the hospital for a supposed medical emergency.
Marcos debunked the rumor when it was asked during an ambush interview after he presided over a meeting of the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) on the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Enteng on Wednesday, September 4. At the time, the hashtag related to him was still trending.
“Palagi nilang pinipilit ‘yan. ‘Andito ako (They keep on insisting that. I’m here),” Marcos said with a laugh when asked about the hashtag and the rumor.
When asked about the state of his health, the President hinted that he had an idea of who was behind the health rumor. “Ah, because lumabas ‘yung report. Iyan ang kailangan ninyong tingnan.” (Oh, it’s because that report came out. That’s what you have to look into.)
“Do I look sick?” he asked reporters, smiling as he smoothened his palms against the sides of his jacket apparently to show how fit he was.
Marcos continued: “Iyan ang kailangan natin bantayan, mga fake news na ganyan. Huwag kayong naniniwala unless it comes from a credible source,” he said.
(That’s what we have to guard against, those kinds of fake news. Don’t believe it unless it comes from a credible source.)
Marcos said the rumor even prompted his friends to check on him. “Ang dami kong kaibigan tumawag sa akin. ‘Okay ka ba? Okay ka ba?’ Wala. Kalokohan lang ‘yan,” he said.
(Many of my friends called me. “Are you okay? Are you okay?” It’s nothing. It’s just nonsense.)
The President said he was at home most of the day on Tuesday, but he had a meeting in the morning — a command conference — and spent the day poring over briefs and doing paperwork. That’s why, he said, he got surprised about his supposed “medical emergency.”
“It’s totally and completely fake. I do not even have a cold. I do not have anything wrong with me. I’m fine. Thank you for your concern,” he told media.
What “report” was the President referring to, which he implied was the reason for the sudden hospitalization rumor? He did not give any hint but the only “report” that dominated headlines and social media these last few days is the Commission on Audit (COA) report on the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2023, under the leadership of Vice President Sara Duterte.
A day before the rumor circulated, House lawmakers moved to compel the DepEd to release all bidding documents in relation to the DepEd Computerization Program in 2022 and 2023, when Duterte led the agency.
This was after after Ako Bicol Representative Jil Bongalon raised possible irregularities in the procurement in 2023 of laptop and other ICT materials under the DepEd Computerization Program, which had a budget of over P11 billion each in 2022 and 2023, based on the General Appropriations Act. – Mia Gonzalez/Rappler.com