HOAX: Photo of ‘newest’ airport in Manila

Claim: A thumbnail of a video shows the “newest” airport in Metro Manila that “beats” NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport).

The blog duterteforever.net ran the headline, “BOOM PANIS! LAOS ANG NAIA SA PINAKABAGONG AIRPORT SA MAYNILA [WOW] PANOORIN” on November 2.

The post garnered a combined total of 3,275 reactions, 171 comments, and 594 shares on Facebook.

The claim was also published by video-hosting websites socialzon.me and ws729.com.

Rating: FALSE

The facts: The thumbnail is a design of a Chinese airport. There is no new airport yet within Metro Manila. The procurement process is also still ongoing for an international airport in nearby Bulacan.

A reverse image search of the thumbnail leads to articles about transportation and airports.

 

 

The image is a perspective of the Dalian Airport in China made by Corgan, an international architecture and design firm, for a design competition in 2014.

A profile of Corgan on the website archinect.com has a related article which leads to the original photo.

Meanwhile, the claim was referring to the proposed 2,500-hectare Bulacan International Airport or New Manila International Airport in Bulacan (or Bulakan) town, in Bulacan province outside Metro Manila.

While Bulacan is considered to be part of the Greater Manila Area, along with other provinces like Laguna, Pampanga, and Cavite, it is technically a province in Region III or Central Luzon.

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) submitted an unsolicited proposal to build the P735.63-billion airport in January 2017. The project was approved by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Investments Coordination Committee in April 2018, then by the NEDA Board weeks later.

The proposed design for the airport was published by the Philippine Information Agency and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

 

Latest news reports indicate that the government and SMC are in the “final round” of negotiations over the contract’s terms. The Department of Transportation is also looking to subject the proposal through a “Swiss challenge”, which will allow other companies aside from SMC to provide a rival offer. (EXPLAINER: Not all projects are eligible for a Swiss challenge)

The government hopes that the contract will be awarded later this year or in early 2019.

The blog post’s sole content is a YouTube video about the proposed Bulacan airport. It is an October 19 CNN Philippines TV report about the government and SMC negotiating the project terms of the airport.

Recently, Rappler checked a claim saying there are “brand new” Japanese trains for the MRT3.

Similar to blogs Rappler has checked, duterteforever.net’s content is mostly pro-administration and anti-opposition. It also does not have a company profile, contact information, editorial board, and article bylines. — Miguel Imperial/Rappler.com

If you suspect a Facebook page, group, account, a website, or an article is spreading false information, let Rappler know by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.