Officials debunk viral video showing Marcos using drugs

MANILA, Philippines — A video supposedly showing President Marcos using illegal drugs was released by supporters of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, hours before he delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) but which was immediately debunked by allies.

The so-called polvoron video showed a man, allegedly Marcos, sniffing a powdery substance.

Claire Contreras, also known as vlogger Maharlika and a supporter of Duterte, went live on her Boldyakan Facebook page on Sunday night and teased about the video, which she subsequently uploaded on Monday morning and generated over 2,300 reactions and 733 shares as of 3 p.m.

The response was swift as other vloggers perceived to be supportive of Duterte uploaded the video. There was also a video clip supposedly from Los Angeles, California which showed Filipinos shouting Marcos should resign after seeing the footage.

Probe ordered

Upon seeing the video, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos ordered the creation of a special task force to determine who are the people behind the video.

The task force, composed of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, Anti-Cybercrime Group and other police units, will coordinate with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on the issue.

Flanked by Philippine National Police officials led by PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, Abalos held a news briefing at Camp Crame, where he denied it was Marcos in the video.

He denounced the people behind the release of what he said is malicious footage at a time when the President was about to enumerate the accomplishments of his administration in the past year.

The video reportedly emanated from a gathering of pro-Duterte supporters in Los Angeles and was streamed on the Hakbang ng Maisug-USA Facebook account.

Abalos also chided those behind the video for opting to release it abroad, possibly beyond the reach of the country’s laws.

“Let us ask ourselves, why would this need to be done abroad? Why not here if that is true and the people behind it can stand by it?” he said.

DIDM director Brig. Gen. Matthew Baccay said the people behind the video could be held liable for violating Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

Even people who are spreading the footage on social media platforms could also face cases.

For its part, the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday committed to identifying and prosecuting the individuals behind the video.

DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano said the production and dissemination of the video, which he said was fake, is illegal under Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code. Individuals doing such may be held criminally liable, he said.

Deepfake

The DICT said the video was a “deepfake” or digitally created, with Secretary Ivan Uy saying the public should expect more of such videos, “considering election season is coming.”

ICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy said their Cybersecurity Bureau was leading a tech investigation on the fake video. — Bella Cariaso, Daphne Galvez, Alexis Romero, Rainier Allan Ronda, Pia Lee-Brago, Delon Porcalla