FACT CHECK: Investment pledges from Malaysia trip to support PH economy

Claim: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will use the investment pledges he secured during his state visit to Malaysia to boost the Philippines’ defense capabilities.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video, posted on July 30, has gained 86,577 views and 1,800 likes from a channel with 340,000 subscribers.

The video’s narrator said: “Ayon kay PBBM, umabot ‘di umano sa 12.7 billion pesos ang nahakot niyang investment sa Malaysia na plano niyang ibili ng ilang gamit na magagamit sa depensa.”

(According to Marcos, he secured up to P12.7 billion in investments from Malaysia that he intends to use for the purchase of defense equipment.)

The bottom line: Marcos said the investment pledges from Malaysian companies will have a valuable contribution to the Philippines’ economic growth. Malacañang said that Malaysian businesses were interested in investing in sectors related to food production, transportation, and technology, among others. 

Investment sectors: According to the President, his three-day state visit to Malaysia yielded $285 million in investment pledges from business leaders interested in investing in the Philippines’ food processing industry, multi-service digital platforms, aviation, aviation maintenance support services, logistics, manufacturing, infrastructure, water and wastewater treatment.

The Philippines also received a separate investment pledge for a railway project, PhilStar reported. There are no reports of investment pledges from either the Malaysian government or private sectors intended towards boosting the Philippines’ defense capabilities.

Even before departing for Kuala Lumpur, Marcos said his visit was to “explore new avenues for cooperation” in food security, digital economy, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.

Malaysia is among the country’s top trading partners and the fourth top source of foreign direct investment to the Philippines.

No connection: The footage of Marcos used in the YouTube video did not show the President discussing plans for the country’s defense improvements. Instead, the RTVM video from Marcos’ keynote address in the Philippine Business Forum focuses on the business and trading opportunities between Malaysia and the Philippines. No mention of investment commitments related to defense can be found in the transcript of Marcos’ speech.

The three-day trip to Malaysia is Marcos’ sixth international trip this year and the fourth state visit since September 2022. (READ: Globe-trotting in 100 days: Marcos is most frequent traveler among post-EDSA presidents)

Rappler has also published a fact-check article related to Marcos’ Malaysia trip, debunking a claim that the visit was intended to reclaim the disputed Sabah. – Kyle Marcelino/Rappler.com

Kyle Marcelino 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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