A photo collage of naval vessels with a caption thanking President Rodrigo Duterte and in “advance,” former senator and presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is misleading Facebook (FB) netizens. The post included photos of a submarine, frigates, and other vessels.
The modernization of the country’s armed forces is an effort spearheaded by former President Fidel V. Ramos through Republic Act (R.A.) 7898. It was amended in 2012 through R.A. 10349 under the term of the late president Benigno Aquino III, which extended the program for another 15 years and allotted at least P75 billion for its first five years.
In July 2021, the AFP reported that under Duterte’s term the agency completed a total of 54 projects under R.A. 7898, and 70 were delivered under R.A. 10349.
VERA Files Fact Check examined each image and found that only one featured a ship currently in the AFP’s fleet inventory.
Read the full story on VERA Files Fact Check.
