FALSE: Ferdinand Marcos was youngest elected as mayor, congressman, governor, and senator

At a glance

• Claim: Former president Ferdinand Marcos was the youngest to be elected mayor, representative, governor, and senator.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Marcos was never elected mayor or governor at all.
• Why we fact-checked this: The claim was found in video uploaded on September 10 to a YouTube via the channel “KAPATID AVINIDZ,” with 13,927 views and 298 comments, as of writing. 

Complete details

A YouTube video on the channel “KAPATID AVINIDZ” uploaded on September 10 said that the late president Ferdinand Marcos was the youngest to be elected mayor, representative, governor, and senator.

The claim can be heard starting from the 3:05 mark of the video: “Mga minamahal kong kapatid, alam ‘nyo rin ba na si Ferdinand E. Marcos ang pinakabatang politician na nanalo bilang isang alkalde, kongresista, gobernador, at senador?” 

(My dear brothers and sisters, did you also know that Ferdinand E. Marcos was the youngest politician to win as mayor, representative, governor, and senator?)

As of writing, the video has 13,927 views and 298 comments.

The claim is false. 

Marcos couldn’t have been the youngest elected for all of the mentioned positions because he never became mayor or governor in the first place.

Before Marcos became president from 1965 to 1986, he became a three-term representative for the 2nd district of Ilocos Norte from 1949 to 1959. He was then elected as senator in 1959 and served until 1965. He never became mayor or governor at all. 

This information can be found in various sources such as the Encyclopedia Britannica entry of Marcos and the profiles of Marcos on the websites of the Presidential Museum and Library, the Department of National Defense, and legacy.senate.gov.ph.

Marcos could not have been the youngest to be elected senator at the start of his senatorial term, which was December 30, 1959. Marcos’s date of birth is September 11, 1917, so he was 42 years old when his senatorial term began. There had been former senators who were younger when they began their terms. (READ: FAST FACTS: Trivia on the Philippine Senate)

Meanwhile, on the claim that Marcos was the youngest to be elected representative, the start of his congressional term was December 30, 1949, thus he was 32 years old at the time he was elected.

He was the youngest elected congressional representative in the 1949 elections according to an AP News article published on February 2, 1986. However, since then, there were representatives younger than age 32 when their terms began. One example is Iloilo 4th District Representative Braeden John Q. Biron, who was 25 years old as of July 22, 2019, when he administered the oath-taking of Representative Alan Peter Cayetano as House Speaker. Another is Kabataan Representative Sarah Elago, who was 31 years old, as of December 2020. (READ: Sarah Elago: Lawmaker under attack)

Rappler has fact-checked “KAPATID AVINIDZ” many times before:

• FALSE: World Bank’s interest rate when loaning to the Philippines is 0%
• FALSE: Magellan gave the name ‘Philippines’ to the country
• FALSE: Ferdinand Marcos appeared in a 1983 world leaders’ meeting in Canada
• FALSE: Voluntary ROTC implemented during president Cory Aquino’s term
• FALSE: Military under Marcos was most advanced in Asia

– Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

Percival Bueser is a graduate 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.

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