FALSE: Marcos Jr. was 2001 Milo Little Olympics taekwondo champion

At a glance

• Claim: Presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. won a taekwondo championship in the Milo Little Olympics grade school division in Lingayen, Pangasinan, in 2001.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Born on September 13, 1957, Marcos Jr. was 44 years old in 2001. According to the Milo Little Olympics website, the age range for elementary athletes is from 7 to 12 years old.
• Why we fact-checked this: At least six Facebook users and pages shared the claim.

Complete details

A graphic uploaded by at least six Facebook pages and users falsely claiming that presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. won a taekwondo championship in the Milo Little Olympics grade school division in Lingayen, Pangasinan, in 2001.

According to Milo’s website, “The Milo Little Olympics is a grand national tournament open for all students in the Elementary and Secondary Division of public and private schools in the Philippines.”

The claim shows Marcos Jr.’s list of achievements in peace and order, education, environment, arts and culture, sports, tourism, and infrastructure.

This claim is false.

Marcos Jr. was 44 years old in 2001. According to his official website, Marcos Jr. was born on September 13, 1957.

According to the guidelines posted on the Milo Little Olympics website, “Elementary students must compete in the Elementary Division only. The age limit for Elementary athletes is from 7 to 12 years oldThe cut-off year of which is the year 2006.”

In the secondary division, athletes up to 16 years old are qualified to compete. Marcos Jr. is still not qualified. – Owenh Toledo/Rappler.com

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