FALSE

Multiple social media posts in the Philippines have shared a claim that a professor at the country’s top university was fired for remarks she made in May 2022 about the nation’s president-elect and his running mate. However, the claim is false; the professor told AFP that she is still employed by the university. As of June 29, the lecturer, now on sabbatical, remains a member of the university faculty. The institution said she will return in 2023.

Encinas-Franco said she was not fired from the university. “I am still with UP,” she told AFP on June 28.

As of June 29, the university’s website lists Encinas-Franco as an associate professor and a regular faculty member but states that she is currently on sabbatical.

Read the full story on AFP Fact Check.

AFP launched its digital verification service in France in 2017 and has grown to become the leading global fact-checking organisation, with dedicated journalists in countries from the United States to the Philippines. Our journalists monitor online content in local languages. They take into account local cultures, languages and politics and work with AFP’s bureaus worldwide to investigate and disprove false information, focusing on items that can be harmful, impactful and manipulative.