FACT CHECK: Marcos didn’t show alleged gold bullion certificate in 2023 FFCCCII convention  

Claim: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. showed a gold bullion certificate of ownership during the 2023 biennial convention of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCII).

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in the title of the video. As of writing, the YouTube post containing the claim has 52,785 views and 1,500 likes.

The bottom line: The video did not show anything to support the claim. It just showed two unrelated videos – a photo of an alleged gold bullion certificate of ownership and a clip of Marcos during the FFCCCII convention.

What is the FFCCCII? According to its website, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc. was founded in March 1954, when “leaders of various Chinese chambers of commerce and trade associations throughout the country convened at the Manila Hotel.”  

During the 1954 convention, the Federation of Chinese Chambers of Commerce in the Philippines was organized. It was eventually named Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc.

The FFCCCII organized Operation: Barrio Schools, an initiative that started in 1961. It has already built 5,986 schools in the country. This initiative was also mentioned by Marcos in his keynote speech. 

No certificate shown: Marcos did not show a gold bullion certificate during the 33rd biennial convention of the FFCCCII. The live recording of the event was posted by Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM). 

A transcript of Marcos’ keynote speech also shows that he didn’t mention anything about a gold bullion certificate during the event. 

Topics discussed: In his speech, Marcos highlighted the importance of the Filipino-Chinese communities in the Philippine economy. He also discussed the following: 

• FFCCCII’s community initiatives
• FFCCCII’s participation during Marcos’ state visit to China
• Agreements made and signed during state visit to China
• An executive order for strategic investments in every government department

Dubious detail in the certificate: The gold bullion certificate of ownership shown in the video said that it was intended for depositing 217,500 metric tons of gold in the “Central Bank of China, Taiwan.” However, the full name of Taiwan’s central bank is Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan). 

The declared volume of gold in the certificate is also dubious because it exceeds the total volume of all gold mined at the time the document was supposedly signed. 

In 1991, only 94,665 metric tons of gold had been mined throughout history, according to M.G. O’Callaghan’s book, The Structure and Operation of the World Gold Market, published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The gold bullion certificate of ownership shown in the video was allegedly signed in January 1986.

Rappler has previously fact-checked claims concerning dubious gold certificates and bank accounts allegedly owned by the Marcoses: 

• FACT CHECK: Marcos did not discuss family’s gold bullion account at 42nd ASEAN Summit 
• FACT CHECK: Marcos’ gold account won’t be used for biofertilizer distribution in PH
• HINDI TOTOO: Tagong Marcos gold account sa Indonesia
• FACT CHECK: Marcos did not withdraw interest from gold deposits in the World Bank
• HINDI TOTOO: May gold deposit certificate sina dating pangulong Marcos at Reagan sa Switzerland

– Lorenz Pasion/Rappler.com

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