FACT CHECK: France has not delivered free submarines to the Philippines

The claim: France has delivered two modern submarines to the Philippines for free. 

The video’s title says, “Naghatid ang France ng 2 Pinakamalaking Libreng Modernong Submarine sa Pilipinas.” (France delivered two largest modern submarines to the Philippines for free)

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a YouTube video that was posted by an account with 110,000 subscribers, and has 80,824 views and 105 comments as of writing.

The facts: The YouTube video was posted on October 23, 2022. On September 15 of the same year, the Inquirer reported that the French government was in an ongoing discussion with the Marcos administration about the potential acquisition of French submarines. The Philippine News Agency further reported that no contractor for the submarine deal had been named yet. 

Furthermore, no announcements have been made by the Philippine Navy nor the Department of National Defense (DND) regarding any updates about the submarine deal. No reports have been made either about France giving free submarines to the Philippines. 

The sudden interest in France and the French submarine deal could be a result of Marcos’ upcoming state visit to France, which is slated before the end of June 2023. According to French Ambassador to the Philippines Michele Boccoz, the priority areas for the visit are food security, energy, maritime security, climate change, and biodiversity, including people-to-people ties.

On February 3 of this year, Rappler debunked a similar claim that said the Philippines had bought submarines from France. – Katarina Ruflo/Rappler.com

Katarina Ruflo 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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