FALSE: Bongbong Marcos wins VP electoral protest in November 2020

At a glance:

• Claim: In November 2020, former senator Bongbong Marcos won the electoral protest he filed against Vice President Leni Robredo.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Contrary to the claim, there has been no final verdict on the case as of November 26.
• Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, the post with this claim has 364 shares, 232 comments, and around 3,500 reactions. This was posted on the “Fact-Checking in the Philippines” Facebook group for verification.

Complete details:

Former senator Bongbong Marcos supposedly won his vice presidential electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo in November 2020.

A Facebook page called “PH News Trending” included this claim in the caption of a post they uploaded on November 10. The entire caption reads: “NAKAKAKILABOT NA BALITA PRES. DUTERTE PANALO SI BONG-BONG MARCOS ELECTION PROTEST VS LENI/TRUMP/BIDEN.” (Terrifying news President Duterte. Bongbong Marcos won the election protest versus Leni/Trump/Biden.)

As of writing, the post with this claim has 364 shares, 232 comments, and around 3,500 reactions. This was posted on the “Fact-Checking in the Philippines” Facebook group for verification.

This claim is false. As of Thursday, November 26, there has been no final verdict on the vice presidential electoral protest.

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), is still deliberating on the possible annulment of votes in Basilan, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao. These are the 3 provinces where Marcos alleged that massive fraud was committed against him during the 2016 Vice Presidential election.

If the PET declares the votes in these provinces null and void, this would remove Robredo’s lead in the election and result in Marcos’ victory.

The Commission on Elections has declared that there was no failure of elections in the 3 contested provinces. However, the Supreme Court still has the power to declare the annulment of votes.

Previously, a recount of votes in pilot provinces Negros Oriental, Iloilo, and Camarines Sur widened Robredo’s lead by 15,093 votes. Robredo reiterated in a pleading filed before the PET on Tuesday, November 24, that the protest can be dismissed if there is no substantial discovery from the recount of the pilot provinces.

The video itself does not provide proof of Marcos’ win, but mixes clips of outgoing US President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden with updates on Marcos’ electoral protest.

Rappler has published other fact check stories on false claims about Marcos being declared the winner of his electoral protest. In September 2019, two Facebook accounts posted graphics that erroneously claimed that official results of the electoral protest showed that Robredo lost the 2016 vice presidential election.

A YouTube video uploaded in September 2020 and shared on several Facebook pages also falsely claimed that Marcos was the country’s new Vice President. – with reports from Margarita Gonzalez, Vernise Tantuco/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.