VERA Files
The Supreme Court is preparing to issue a warrant of arrest against President Ferdinand Marcos for allegedly committing plunder, claims a YouTube video. This is not true.
On May 29, a YouTube channel published the video that continues to circulate this week bearing this headline:
“MORALES INILABAS NA ANG MGA EBIDENSYA LABAN KAY KUTING! WARRANT OF ARREST PARA KAY PBBM INIHANDA NA!
(Morales revealed evidence against the kitten [Marcos]! Warrant of arrest for PBBM is now being prepared!)”
The narrator of the 30-minute video claimed the High Court will issue the warrant shortly, after Jonathan Morales, a dismissed Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agent, provided evidence of Marcos’ alleged crime.
There was no evidence shown to support the claim in the video, but only featured the commentary of political blogger Maharlika.
The president is immune from suit. While it is not explicitly stated in the 1987 Constitution, the Supreme Court reaffirmed in the unanimous 2019 En Banc decision in Leila de Lima vs. President Rodrigo Duterte that the president is entitled to immunity from suit during the entire tenure of their incumbency.
Morales never showed any evidence that Marcos committed plunder, but he did insist on the authenticity of the circulating leaked document allegedly linking the president to drug use during an April 30 Senate hearing. The Senate investigation on this PDEA leak is still ongoing.
This video emerged after Morales was released from Senate detention. The former PDEA agent was cited in contempt and consequently detained after supposedly lying numerous times before the Chamber.
YouTube channel BANGON PINAS (created on Sept. 4, 2022) published the spurious video that could have potentially reached over 80,000 YouTube users, garnering over 20,000 views and 1,200 online interactions.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
