HOAX: Bam Aquino quote on ‘tambays’

Claim: A photo of Senator Bam Aquino with a quote about tambays attributed to him was posted on Facebook by one Jane Javellana on Tuesday, June 26.

The quote was about how Aquino would help the tambays or loiterers, in light of the arrests made since President Rodrigo Duterte’s orders on June 14. (READ: What you should know: Duterte administration’s crackdown on ‘tambays’)

The quote in the photo read: “Tutulungan ko ang mga tambay dito sa Pilipinas, pagsusumikapan kong mabigyan sila ng mga benepisyo gaya ng health benefits at monthly allowance at ng sa ganon hindi sila maliitin ni Duterte. Bam Aquino po, handang maglingkod.”

(I’m going to help the loiterers here in the Philippines. I will strive to give them benefits, like health benefits and a monthly allowance so that Duterte will not look down on them. Bam Aquino, ready to serve.)

The photo and quote were attributed to “PPNews.” It has almost 17,000 shares and more than 6,000 reactions as of this article’s posting.

Rating: False

The facts: There are no official reports of Aquino saying the above-mentioned quote and his official Facebook page labelled the quote as fake.

The original photo was posted by News5 on their Facebook page on May 26. News5 quoted Aquino, who appealed to President Duterte to listen to security experts regarding the missiles that China installed on the West Philippine Sea.

On Tuesday, June 26, Aquino did question the government’s anti-tambay policy in a press release, but did not say that he would give health benefits and monthly allowances to loiterers.

In the release, he asked why the government would continue with their anti-tambay efforts, considering of the aggravation over the death of Genesis “Tisoy” Argoncillo, who died in the custody of the Quezon City Police District after he was arrested for loitering.

He added: “Talagang nakakabahala itong pagtutuloy ng kampanya laban sa tambay dahil hanggang ngayon hindi pa nga nalilinaw ang legal basis nito. Isa pa, kailangan munang panagutin ang mga umabuso at ayusin ang proseso.”

(The continuation of the campaign against loiterers is really worrisome because the legal basis for this hasn’t been clarified until now. Another thing, we first need to have the abusers answer for what they did and to fix the process.)

Aquino submitted Senate Resolution Number 772, asking the committee on public order and dangerous drugs to investigate the issue, which he called discriminatory and anti-poor. – Vernise L Tantuco/Rappler.com