FALSE: All senators in 1998 were appointed by Cory Aquino

At a glance

• Claim: All the senators at the time of a Senate investigation into the Marcos wealth on December 21, 1998, were all appointees of former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: The senators at the time of the hearing were in power because they were elected on May 8, 1995, and May 11, 1998. They were not appointed by Aquino, whose term ended on June 30, 1992. Moreover, not all of the senators were given positions by Aquino during her administration from 1986 to 1992.
• Why we fact-checked this: The claim was found in a post on July 2, 2021, in the Facebook page “Marcos gold” with about 148 reactions, 86 comments, and 34 shares as of writing.

Complete details

A July 2 post in the Facebook page “Marcos gold” said that the Senate, during the time it met with former first lady Imelda Marcos in 1998, were all composed of appointees of former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino.

The post reads: “Makikita mo sa muka Ni imelda Marcos noong 1998 Kung gaano sya kasabik para maiahon na sa kahirapan ang mamamayan subalit tinaggihan Lang ito ng senado noon dahil silang lahat ay dilawan na mga  Aquino appointees.” (You could see in the face of Imelda Marcos in 1998 how eager she was to lift our people out of poverty, but her offer was refused by the previous Senate because they were all “yellow” Aquino appointees.)

As can be deduced from the included photos, the meeting referred to in the post was a Senate hearing on the Marcos wealth on December 21, 1998. There, Imelda said that, for the good of the people, she wanted to implement the last will and testament of her husband and former president Ferdinand Marcos. The AP Archive has a video of part of the coverage along with an article about the hearing.

As of writing, the post has 148 reactions, 86 comments, and 34 shares.

The claim that all the senators were Aquino appointees is false. 

The senators at the time of the December 21, 1998, hearing were elected on May 8, 1995 and May 11, 1998. They were not appointed to the Senate by Cory Aquino, whose presidency ended on June 30, 1992.

Below is the list of senators on December 21, 1998, who belonged to the 11th Congress:

From the 1998 elections:

• Loren Legarda-Leviste
• Renato Cayetano
• Vicente Sotto III
• Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
• Robert Barbers
• Rodolfo Biazon
• Blas Ople
• John Henry Osmeña
• Robert Jaworski
• Ramon Revilla Sr.
• Teofisto Guingona Jr.
• Teresa Aquino-Oreta

From the 1995 elections:

• Raul Roco
• Ramon Magsaysay Jr.
• Franklin Drilon
• Juan Flavier
• Miriam Defensor-Santiago
• Sergio Osmeña III
• Francisco Tatad
• Gregorio Honasan II
• Marcelo Fernan
• Juan Ponce Enrile
• Anna Dominique Coseteng

Some of the senators in the list were appointed to government positions by Aquino during her administration from 1986 to 1992, such as Franklin Drilon, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and Miriam Defensor-Santiago. However, there were also those whom Aquino did not appoint, such as Robert Jaworski, who was still playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) back then. Juan Flavier, who served as president of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) from 1978 to 1992 and became secretary of health under the administration of Fidel Ramos, was also not appointed by Aquino.

The name of the Facebook page that made the post is “Marcos gold,” a topic that has been discussed in numerous Rappler fact-checks before. – Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

Percival Bueser is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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