FACT CHECK: Kris Aquino is alive

Claim: Kris Aquino died on Wednesday, January 3. 

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post containing the claim has over 1,100 reactions, 343 comments, and 165 shares as of writing. The post originated from a Facebook page named “Philippine Scholar 2023,” which has a substantial following of over 12,000 followers.

The post claimed that Aquino passed away on January 3 and included a link to a blog site.

The facts: Contrary to the claim, Kris Aquino is very much alive. On January 8, her attending nurse, Mike Alayon, shared a photograph on his Facebook account showing Aquino alongside her former partner, Batangas Vice Governor Mark Leviste, and her son, Joshua Aquino.

There are also no official news reports confirming the claim.

Health update: Aquino has been battling several autoimmune diseases since 2018. She was first diagnosed with chronic spontaneous urticaria and with erosive gastritis and a gastric ulcer in March 2022.

She has been in the US since June 2022 to receive treatment for her autoimmune diseases.

Aquino last provided an update on her health through an Instagram post on November 26, 2023, where she said that her blood tests revealed “abnormalities.” This was also her last public update on her social media page.

This is not the first time false information about Aquino’s health circulated online. In 2022, Rappler fact-checked and refuted claims of her death:

• FALSE: Kris Aquino dies in America on January 23
• HINDI TOTOO: Namayapa na si Kris Aquino

– Marie Flor Cabarrubias/Rappler.com

Marie Flor Cabarrubias is a Rappler Intern. She is a fourth year Communication Research student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Sta. Mesa Manila.

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