SATIRE: COA logo incorporates anti-Duterte elements

At a glance

• Claim: A graphic showed a breakdown of supposed “anti-Duterte” elements incorporated in the logo of the Commission on Audit.
• Rating: SATIRE
• The facts: The full version of the circulating graphic was first posted on a Facebook meme group. The original post had a disclaimer it was satire, which was later cropped out by those who shared it.
• Why we fact-checked this: The cropped graphic was posted several times by Facebook pages, according to CrowdTangle meme search.

Complete details

A graphic posted by several Facebook users showed a breakdown of supposed “anti-Duterte” elements incorporated in the logo of the Commission on Audit (COA).

According to the graphic, COA’s logo contains the following elements due to the following reasons:

• The color yellow, which is often associated with allies of the Aquino family
• The color red, which is often associated with the communist insurgency
• The colors blue, red, yellow, and white, which the Liberal Party uses for its logo

The graphic also claims members of the Liberal Party are behind COA, suggesting that the agency’s recent audit reports are politically-motivated.

This photo is satirical. 

The original infographic was posted on Tuesday, August 17, on the popular Facebook meme group “meme$ out 4 du30: ang probinsyano (杜特爾特·梅姆斯: 省级),” which has more than 52,000 members. The post has gained more than 1,100 reactions, 78 comments, and 192 shares, as of writing.

In the lower right corner, the graphic also contains an edited logo resembling the official NTF-ELCAC logo. The edited logo reads, “NTF MEMES OUT 4 DU30 (MO4D) MULTIVERSE.”

The bottom of the original graphic reads, “Satire onli. Huwag maniwala” (Satire only. Don’t take it seriously). When some users shared the photo outside of the Facebook meme group, they cropped out the disclaimer.

COA explains the elements of the agency’s logo on their official website. Their website states, “The three silver (argent) stars (mullets) on the blue (azure) background represent the national scope of jurisdiction of the Commission on Audit; the seven gold (or) coins (besants) on red (gules) base represent the seven functions of the Commission.”

COA recently gained national attention after it released audit reports flagging the misuse or mishandling of public funds meant for COVID-19 pandemic response. – Alois Isinika and Gaby Baizas/Rappler

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