Claim: The United Nations (UN) sued President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for losing trillions in public funds.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video bearing the false claim has garnered 75,775 views, 4,900 likes, and 575 comments as of writing. It was posted on December 11 by a channel with 93,600 subscribers.
The video’s title and thumbnail read: “PBBM kinasuhan na ng United Nation! Lizatanaz humagolgol sa iyak mga nawawalang pundo nasa kanya” (United Nation [sic] filed a case against PBBM! Lizatanaz cries because the lost funds are with her). The narrator uses “Lizatanaz” to refer to First Lady Liza Marcos.
According to the video, the UN is suing Marcos for corruption, specifically for losing “trillions” in public funds. It also says that this issue has gone viral on social media since the UN publicized evidence against Marcos.
The video then proceeds to play a 20-minute clip of a vlogger talking about Marcos’ stance on the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The facts: There are no reports from the UN’s official website or news portal about a case against Marcos, nor has it publicized any evidence of his alleged corruption as claimed in the video.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the “principal judicial organ” of the UN, also has no such report. Furthermore, the ICJ only investigates two types of cases: legal disputes between states and requests for advisory opinions on legal questions. These cases must be submitted or requested by states or by UN organs and specialized agencies. The ICJ does not deal with a dispute on its own initiative.
Other courts and tribunals with varying degrees of relation to the UN, such as the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, International Criminal Court (ICC), and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, have not announced the filing of a corruption case against Marcos either.
According to the UN’s website, the roles and mandates of these courts typically focus on addressing disputes between states and, as in the case of the ICC, crimes against humanity.
Additionally, the WPS case mentioned in the video involved the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which is not a UN agency.
Marcos’ spending: The false claim circulated after the Commission on Audit (COA) released the 2023 Annual Financial Report on National Government Agencies on December 2. The report showed that the Office of the President under Marcos was the top spender of confidential and intelligence funds in 2023. (READ: Government’s confidential, intelligence spending in 2023 exceeds P10B for the first time)
The report came in the middle of heated investigations into Vice President Sara Duterte’s handling of confidential funds. Duterte has since called on the House of Representatives to investigate Marcos’ office as well.
However, the chair of the House committee on good government and public accountability said no such investigation was needed because COA did not flag the OP’s spending and that its duty involved national security.
Previous fact-checks: Rappler has debunked other false claims about Marcos:
- FACT CHECK: Supreme Court did not file charges vs Marcos
- FACT CHECK: Marcos not arrested over illegal drugs
- FACT CHECK: Marcos photo of housing materials distribution part of post-Kristine aid
- FACT CHECK: Marcos skips APEC to prioritize domestic concerns
- FACT CHECK: Marcos did not give Willie Ong financial aid following cancer diagnosis
– Shay Du/Rappler.com
Shay Du is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
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