FALSE: Bongbong Marcos suffers a heart attack on December 20, 2021

At a glance

• Claim: Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. suffered a heart attack around December 20 or 21 and was rushed to the hospital. 
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: There are no official news reports of Marcos suffering a heart attack on those dates. The presidential aspirant tweeted photos of himself on December 20 giving aid to residents of Masbate, Capiz, Siargao Island, and Negros Occidental following Typhoon Odette (Rai).
• Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in videos found on a verified YouTube channel that has posted false information before and has 217,000 followers.

Complete details

According to videos on the verified YouTube channel “MJ Journals,” presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos suffered a heart attack around December 20 or 21 and was rushed to the hospital.

One video, posted on December 20, is titled “BONGBONG MARCOS, INATAKE SA PUSO HABANG NANGANGAMPANYA!“ (Bongbong Marcos suffers a heart attack while campaigning!) Another video, posted on December 21, is titled “BONGBONG MARCOS, ISINUGOD SA OSPITAL DAHIL SA HEART ATTACK!” (Bongbong Marcos is rushed to the hospital because of a heart attack!)

This YouTube channel has posted false information before and has 217,000 followers.

The claim is false. 

As of writing, there are no official news reports of Marcos suffering a heart attack on those dates. There are also no announcements from Marcos’ camp about him suffering a heart attack.

The presidential aspirant tweeted photos of himself on December 20 giving aid to the residents of Masbate, Capiz, Siargao Island, and Negros Occidental following Typhoon Odette.

Marcos’ son, Sandro, did not make any statements about his father suffering a heart attack either, but instead posted a family photo on Instagram on Christmas Day. 

The contents of the misleading videos themselves discuss presidential candidates’ campaigning, contrary to what their titles say. There is no mention of a heart attack in the content of the videos. 

Marcos is running with President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter, Sara, for the 2022 elections. They confirmed their tandem on November 17. – Vernise Tantuco/Rappler.com

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