Marcos Fact Checks

MISSING CONTEXT: Cory Aquino stopped FTI’s operations after 1986 EDSA revolution

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

MISSING CONTEXT: Cory Aquino stopped FTI’s operations after 1986 EDSA revolution
The Food Terminal Inc. was under the privatization program implemented by Corazon Aquino, which was based on Ferdinand Marcos’ presidential decree, issued in February 1986, to dispose of government-owned firms
At a glance
  • Claim: Former president Corazon Aquino stopped the operations of the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) after the 1986 EDSA Revolution.
  • Rating: MISSING CONTEXT
  • The facts: FTI, which was once a government-owned asset, was privatized by Cory Aquino in 1986 through Marcos’ presidential decree to sell government firms. It was in 1989 when some of its operations – such as food processing, food trading, and slaughtering – were suspended due to free trade market conflicts.
  • Why we fact-checked this: This claim was sent to the “Fact-checking in the Philippines” Facebook group for verification. The Facebook post has 4,800 reactions, 1,500 comments, and 25,000 shares, as of writing.
Complete details

A Facebook post claimed that former president Corazon Aquino stopped the operations of the Food Terminal Incorporated after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. It also said that FTI was one of the government properties sold by Corazon and her son who would also become president, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. 

The post has 4,800 reactions, 1,500 comments, and 25,000 shares as of writing. 

These claims lack context. 

FTI was one of the government-owned properties that underwent the privatization program that Corazon Aquino signed in December 1986. It was later sold to a private entity during Noynoy Aquino’s administration. (READ: MISSING CONTEXT: 1986 EDSA People Power caused privatization of gov’t firms)

However, it was Ferdinand Marcos’ Presidential Decree 2030 in February 1986 that provided for the orderly disposal of certain government firms. These included FTI, because it was a government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCC), as defined in Presidential Decree 2029.

Marcos issued the decrees were to aid the economic recovery program, as the country’s debt grew during his regime. According to Katsumi Nozawa, author of Deregulation and Economic Development in the Philippines, the profitability of GOCCs declined in 1984. 

Nozawa said that Marcos’ Presidential Decrees (PDs) 2029 and 2030 became the basis for Aquino’s privatization program. Felixberto Bustos Jr., former executive vice president of the Land Bank of the Philippines, said the same in a 1993 Private Investment and Trade Opportunities economic brief.

According to Aquino’s December 9, 1986, speech, selling government firms was a necessary measure to ease the burden of the national budget and to pave the way for economic growth through the private sector. 

FTI, formerly known as Greater Manila Terminal Food Market (GMFTM) was established in 1968 through PD 347, s.1968 to uplift the country’s agriculture in being the primary source of trade in Metro Manila.  

In 1989, operations of slaughtering, food trading, and food processing were suspended due to conflict with free trade market forces. The cold storage also had to end its operations in 2004 due to technical and viability problems. 

In November 2012, the property was sold to Ayala Land for P24 billion to boost economic activities in the area. – Dianne Sampang/Rappler.com

Dianne Sampang is a volunteer 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.

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.

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!