VERA Files
A circulating video is repeating the false claim that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has ordered the renaming of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to Manila International Airport (MIA). No such order has been issued.
In a Sept. 13, 2022 interview, Marcos said that renaming the airport is not among his administration’s priorities.
House Bill 1253 which seeks to rename NAIA to MIA has been pending with the committee on transportation since Aug. 1, 2022.
The video’s headline and thumbnail were mere clickbaits:
“KAKAPASOK LANG GRABE! DRlLON NAMUTLA sa UTOS ni PRES BBM SAWAKAS NAIA BALIK MIA NA! DlLAWAN IYAK (JUST IN SERIOUS! DRILON BECAME PALE at the ORDER of PRES PBBM FINALLY NAIA IS NOW BACK TO MIA! YELLOWS CRY).”
The 13-minute and 22-second video was shared on YouTube and Facebook (FB) on May 1, the same day the international gateway made headlines due to an eight-hour power outage that resulted in flight delays and cancellations.
The thumbnail shows a photo of Marcos juxtaposed with that of former senate president Franklin Drilon. Marcos’ photo was edited to look like he is holding a document bearing an image of NAIA and an illustration of “Manila International Airport.” The text in the thumbnail highlighted the same false claim.
The video, however, only brought up Drilon’s 2022 response to House Bill 610, which aims to rename the airport after former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Drilon said that “any proposal to rename NAIA will always be seen as political and divisive.” The bill has also been pending with the committee since July 11, 2022.
The rest of the video included netizens’ unrelated comments and clips from a vlogger’s commentary on Drilon disagreeing with the Maharlika Wealth Fund.
This is the third time this year alone that VERA Files Fact Check debunked the name change claim (Read: Marcos NOT changing NAIA to MIA). It also circulated last January when a power outage struck the airport (Read: FALSE ‘NAIA reverting to MIA’ claim resurfaces).
On May 1, NAIA Terminal 3 experienced a power outage from 1:05 A.M to 8:46 A.M. According to Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Cesar Chiong, this affected 9,000 domestic passengers and caused some delays in domestic and international flights.
YouTube channel PINAS NEWS INSIDER (created on Dec. 26, 2015), known for circulating political disinformation, posted the video with 49,872 views as of writing. The FB page Maharlikan atin toh (June 16, 2020 as Maharlikan Plan) also uploaded the video garnering 1,689 interactions. Three YouTube channels also made reaction videos bearing the same clickbait title and thumbnail.
Have you seen any dubious claims, photos, memes, or online posts that you want us to verify? Fill out this reader request form or send it to ‘VERA, the truth bot’ on Viber.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
