Claim: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will use his family’s alleged gold account to fund the distribution of biofertilizers to Filipino farmers.

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: The false claim on YouTube was posted by PweDelie TV with the title: “KAPAPASOK LANG WOW MARCOS ACCOUNT GAGAMITIN NG PBBM ADMIN PARA SA DISTRIBUTION NG BIO FERTILIZERS?” (Just in, wow! Marcos account will be used by the PBBM administration for the distribution of bio-fertilizers?)The video has 37,000 views and 92 comments as of writing.

What the video shows: The video shows a document dated January 12, 1983, which is claimed to be a certificate issued by Banco de Oro Unibank. According to the certificate, the bank insured a deposit of cash and gold bullion valued at $943 trillion.

The purported certificate also contains instructions regarding the distribution of funds, specifying that 70% of the total value should be allocated to government programs such as infrastructure development, agricultural improvement, environmental rehabilitation, and technological advancement.

The signatures of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos and Banco de Oro’s then-chief executive officer Roberto R. Lapid are also shown on the alleged certificate. However, it does not explicitly mention that the cash and gold bullion belong to the Marcoses.

The video does not present additional evidence to support the claim. Instead, it went on to show footage of the May 12 press briefing with Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian discussing the distribution of biofertilizers for Filipino farmers. The transcript of the briefing shows no mention of any supposed Marcos gold.

In March, Marcos said the government will soon introduce biofertilizers to lessen Filipino farmers’ dependence on expensive petroleum-based fertilizers. The DA released a memorandum in April setting guidelines on the use of biofertilizers to improve rice production.

No evidence: Rappler’s fact-checkers have repeatedly debunked claims of the Marcos family supposedly possessing a significant undisclosed gold account from the same YouTube channel. 

Despite the absence of evidence and supporting documents, persistent claims continue to circulate regarding alleged hidden Marcos wealth: 

• FACT CHECK: Marcos’ gold account won’t be used to advance science and tech in PH
• FACT CHECK: Marcos’ gold account won’t be used to strengthen PH agriculture
• FACT CHECK: DPWH projects not funded by Marcos gold account’s earned interest 
• FACT CHECK: Video doesn’t show Marcos has huge amount of gold hidden in Japan
• FACT CHECK: Video doesn’t show Marcos has Saudi Arabia gold account
• FACT CHECK: Marcos doesn’t have ‘over a million metric tons’ of gold in banks worldwide
• FACT CHECK: Marcos doesn’t have ‘over a million metric tons’ of gold in banks worldwide
• FACT CHECK: Marcos Sr. Letter of Instruction prescribing distribution of gold does not exist

– Jezreel Ines/Rappler

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