VERA Files

VERA Files is a nonstock, nonprofit, independent media organization. Founded in March 2008, it is published by veteran Filipino journalists taking a deeper look into current Philippine issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT SHEET: The heat index, explained

The Department of Education (DepEd) reminded school heads that they may suspend onsite classes and implement distance modular learning instead during “natural disasters” such as extreme heat, as well as other “human-induced hazards.” In a memorandum issued on April 20, DepEd Assistant

April 28, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Post that Meralco will be replaced MISLEADS

A TikTok video reposted as a Facebook (FB) Reel claimed that power supply from the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will be replaced by advanced technology. This is a clickbait. President Ferdinand Marcos’ speech, as featured in the video, did not suggest this.

April 27, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: There is NO Marcos gold in the World Bank

A TikTok video is rehashing bogus claims about the Marcos family’s supposed gold reserves stored in the World Bank. These “deposits” are non-existent. Specifically, it claimed that: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is withdrawing the interest earned by gold reserves deposited by

April 27, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: FAKE ads used in diabetes, erectile dysfunction meds scam

Yet another website is misusing the identity of former National Task Force against COVID-19 special adviser Tony Leachon to promote fake health products. Leachon has disowned the advertisement which has been circulating on Facebook (FB) since April 13. The website pusup.shop published

April 26, 2023

Institutions

Batok (traditional tattoos): A revival here and elsewhere

Among young Kalingas, the practice of having traditional tattoos has declined ages ago. In contrast, local and international visitors have made the remote village of Buscayan, Kalinga a hot spot for getting a tattoo from Whang-ud, considered as the last and the

April 26, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Pahayag ng doktor sa TikTok na nakatutulong ang oral glutathione sa pag-reverse ng fatty liver walang patunay

Sa pagpapaliwanag ng mga benepisyo ng glutathione, sinabi ng doktor na si Alvin Francisco, na mayroong mahigit 885,000 followers sa TikTok, na nakatutulong ang pag-inom ng oral glutathione sa pag reverse ng fatty liver. Ito ay hindi pa napapatunayan. PAHAYAG Sa isang

April 24, 2023

Institutions

The North remembers – VERA Files

Photos courtesy of Joanna K. Cariño and Luchie B. Maranan I blame the Marcoses for much of the ruin that our country has fallen into. It is not enough for the current president and namesake of the late dictator to say that

April 24, 2023

Institutions

Remulla turning out to be de Lima’s tormentor

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla is being inhuman in insisting that the government would not oppose the bail petition of former senator Leila De Lima only if it is based on humanitarian grounds — not for lack of evidence. Being a humanitarian

April 24, 2023

Institutions

How the world watches the De Lima case

It is a fait accompli. The world is intensely observing the Philippine government how it will resolve the counterfeited cases against Leila de Lima. The root of that incarceration is a story the world knows fully well. It began from the juvenile

April 23, 2023

Institutions

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Video does NOT show China, PH ‘battle’ in Pag-asa Island

A YouTube video falsely passed off three-year-old clips of a maritime drill to claim that the China Coast Guard (CCG) fired water cannons at the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to drive them out of Pag-asa Island. Posted on April 3, the two-minute

April 23, 2023