Latest news with #PBBM
AFP
23-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Image of 'impeach Marcos protest' is altered
The doctored picture was shared on Facebook on May 15, 2025. It appears to depict protesters carrying banners with the text "Impeach PBBM", the popular initials for Marcos. "These left-leaning rebels wanted the 'Kakampinks' to win in the senate because they can control them. So that they can easily take over government as President," the post says. "Kakampink" refers to allies and supporters of former vice president Leni Robredo, who lost the presidential race to Marcos in 2022. Image Screenshot of the post sharing the altered image taken May 19, 2025 The image -- which features members of the Akbayan and Magdalo political parties -- also surfaced on TikTok days after the former secured several seats in Congress in the May 12 mid-term elections (archived link). , Akbayan told AFP on May 19 that it "did not stage an impeach BBM rally" and that "the picture is edited." A reverse image search on Google found similar photos and footage captured during an earlier demonstration on January 31. Photos from Getty Images and clips from local news outlets including The Manila Times, ABS-CBN and Manila Bulletin show the text on the placards originally read: "Impeach Sara!" (archived here, here, here, here). "Protesters holding placards shout slogans during a rally at the People Power monument in Manila on January 31, 2025, in support of the impeachment of Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte," says the caption of an AFP photo from the rally. Image Screenshot comparison of the doctored image (L) and AFP's photo of the same rally, with elements highlighted by AFP Akbayan endorsed an impeachment complaint against Duterte filed by an alliance of civil society groups in December 2024 (archived link). She was impeached on February 5 for "high crimes", including an alleged assassination plot against ally-turned-foe President Marcos (archived link). One of Akbayan's representatives will be part of the prosecution panel in Duterte's impeachment trial in , which could see her permanently barred from public office (archived link).
GMA Network
22-05-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Lawmakers react to Cabinet shakeup: ‘Necessary reset if done right'
President Bongbong Marcos speaks during Presentation of Newly Enacted Laws to Stakeholders in Malacañang on Thursday, May 22, 2025, during which he joked about his Cabinet being "in flux." President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. must show that he is sincere and decisive in his bid to "realign" his administration, ML party-list Representative-elect Leila de Lima said Thursday, in the aftermath of Marcos' asking his Cabinet members to tender courtesy resignations after the midterm elections. 'I take note of the President's decision to reorganize his Cabinet following the administration's performance in the midterm elections. It reflects an awareness that the public expects more—more coherence, more competence, and more decisive leadership from this government,' de Lima said in a statement, one of several congresspeople who reacted to the news of the shakeup on Thursday. 'A Cabinet revamp, if done right, can serve as a necessary reset in the remaining half of his term. Pero, kailangan munang ipakita ni PBBM [But Marcos must show]: first, his sincerity, and second, his decisiveness and firmness in his governance. Otherwise, magpapatuloy ang nagiging perception ng marami na isa na siyang lame duck na pangulo [the perception that he is a lame duck will linger],' de Lima added. House Quad Committee chairperson and Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers, for his part, said the President's move will enable him to replace underperforming top government officials, including those who do not defend him during times when he and his government are under attack from critics or from the opposition. 'I believe he should appoint to the Cabinet people who have unquestionable integrity and loyalty to him and his administration…people who as his alter ego can deliver their respective mandates to the people that we serve and will not think twice in condemning Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea and defend him on other national issues thrown against him and his administration,' Barbers said in a separate statement. 'The President is on the right track. And he must act promptly and decisively in order to preserve the gains of his administration,' he added. House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan of 4Ps party-list, on the other hand, said the Cabinet reshuffle shows the President's commitment to responsive and effective governance. 'The reorganization presents an opportunity to reinforce institutional coherence, improve policy implementation, and deepen public engagement,' he said. 'Change, when led by a clear vision and strong leadership, can infuse new energy and sharpen focus in tackling the pressing challenges of our time. We fully support the President's efforts to advance a dynamic and inclusive national agenda,' he added. Policy change, not personnel change But for Kabataan party-list representative elect Renee Co, a Cabinet reshuffle should always be done in the name of performance, not loyalty, to effect policy changes. 'Pagbabantayan ito ng kabataan. Ayaw na nating ma-scam ulit. Sa totoo lang, trying hard masyado na magmukhang in charge si Marcos Jr., pero hindi tayo convinced. This is part of their political war preparations for 2028 against the Dutertes,' Co said. (The youth will remain vigilant about this. We do not want to get scammed again. In truth, they're trying hard to make it look like Marcos Jr. is in charge, but we are not convinced.) Co said as it is, several big issues—including the jeepney modernization program; the K to 12 program that added two more years to high school; contractualization; red-tagging; and low wages—are still burdening the public. 'The people have been presenting him solutions, but the President is not even agreeable to a wage hike. Ang bara ay nasa mga mismong polisiya at programa, hindi sa mga tao lang na nagpapatupad,' Co said. (The bottleneck in government programs is with the policies, not with the people who implement them.) 'Kung legitimate effort ito, hindi lang tao-tao dapat ang magbago, pero ang pamumuno at programa ng gobyerno na bola ni Marcos Jr. mismo,' Co added. (If this is a genuine push for reform, changes should go beyond top officials.) — BM, GMA Integrated News
AFP
03-03-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Video shows Philippine president at wreath-laying ceremony, not receiving award from US army
, showing President Ferdinand Marcos laying a wreath at a memorial before he is accompanied into a building by US soldiers holding his country's national flag, was shared on February 11, 2025. "Awarded the highest honorary award of the USA Army, PBBM is something else," reads superimposed Tagalog-language text, using initials for the president that incorporate his nickname "Bongbong". Images of Marcos and US President Donald Trump were also overlaid on the video, which was viewed more than 165,000 times. Image Screenshot of the false TikTok post, captured on March 3, 2025 The video also , with comments suggesting users believed the US army had given Marcos an honorary award. "BBM to our nation. I salute you!" read one comment. Another read: Manila and Washington are long-standing treaty allies and their relationship has deepened since Marcos took office in 2022 (archived link). He is widely seen as having aggressively pushed back against China's claims over the South China Sea, a change from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte's cosier relationship with Beijing (archived link). The battle between the two political dynasties is at the heart of upcoming mid-term races, which could determine the political future of Duterte's eldest daughter, impeached Vice President Sara Duterte. But there have been no official reports of Marcos receiving any award from the US military, and the video circulating online was in fact filmed in May 2023. Wreath-laying ceremony using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to a livestream shared on the verified YouTube channel of state-run broadcaster RTVM on May 4, 2023 (archived link). "President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pays his formal respects to the sacrifices of America's veterans by offering a wreath before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a solemn ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States of America on May 4, 2023," read the video's caption. The video used in the false posts matches the footage shown between the 7:07 and 15:40 marks. Image Screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and the RTVM livestream (right) Philippine broadcaster GMA News and the Pentagon's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service also published footage of the ceremony (archived here and here). Marcos is not shown being given an award in any of the videos. There is also no mention of Marcos being given the US army's "highest honorary award" in Philippine news reports about the ceremony or in an article on the Arlington National Cemetery's official website (archived here and here). The claim was earlier debunked by Philippine fact-checking organisation VERA Files (archived link).
