FALSE

A TikTok video repeated unproven and false claims about the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and the wealth of the Marcos family. It gained a million views and a lot of interactions on Facebook before it was deleted.

The video spliced different clips including one where former President Ferdinand Marcos supposedly criticized his successor, Corazon Aquino, for putting politics above public good in deciding against the operation of the power plant and warning that the Philippines will fall after 20 years because of this mistake.

The in-video text read: “KUNG HINDI DAHIL SA MGA AQUINO NA YAN SANA MAY SARILING NUCLEAR NA TAYO NGAYON (If not for the Aquinos we would have our own nuclear [power plant]).”

VERA Files Fact Check previously debunked this unproven claim. An almost-identical statement appeared in a Sept. 20, 2014 Interaksyon article by Joel Paredes, but its authenticity is unconfirmed and no other legitimate media outlets reported on it.

Read the full story on VERA Files Fact Check.

VERA Files is a nonstock, nonprofit independent media organization registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Company Registration No. CN200808072). Founded in March 2008, it is published by veteran Filipino journalists taking a deeper look into current Philippine issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”

VERA Files was founded by journalists Ellen Tordesillas, Luz Rimban, Booma Cruz, Jennifer Santiago, Yvonne T. Chua and Chit Estella (who passed away in a road crash on May 13, 2011).

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