FALSE: Media did not report on Clark International Airport’s Prix Versailles nomination

At a glance

• Claim: Media did not report on Clark International Airport’s nomination as finalist for the Prix Versailles World Architecture and Design Awards.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: There were at least eight mainstream media news articles that reported on Clark International Airport’s nomination to the Prix Versailles World Architecture and Design Awards.
• Why we fact-checked this: The claim can be found in an August 21 YouTube livestream by vlogger Banat By, with 42,633 views as of writing. The YouTube video was also shared on some Facebook pages such as “Banat By” and “MOCHA USON BLOG.”

Complete details

On August 20, vlogger Banat By, whose real name is Byron Cristobal, said in a YouTube livestream that mainstream media did not report on the nomination of the Clark International Airport in Pampanga as a World Selection, or finalist, to the Prix Versailles World Architecture and Design Awards in the “Airports” category. As of writing, the video has 42,633 views. 

At the 2:28:54 mark of the video, Banat By said, while showing a screenshot of an article by propertyreport.ph about the nomination : “Pero ang bad news, hindi nirereport ito ng mainstream media. Bakit? Eh siyempre. Paano namin sisiraan si Duterte diyan? Sige nga. Oh ‘di ba? Ay, paano na? Paano namin mabanatan ang Pangulong Duterte diyan?” 

(But the bad news is that it was not reported by mainstream media. Why? It’s obvious. How can we denigrate Duterte with that information? Come on. Right? What now? How can we lambast Duterte with that?)

The YouTube video was also shared on four August 20 posts on Banat By’s verified Facebook page “Banat By” and on four August 20 posts on the Facebook page “MOCHA USON BLOG.” Also, a short segment of the video with the claim can be found on a post in the Facebook page “Banat By May,” with the post reading, “Banat By nag-react sa isa na namang good news ng Duterte admin na hindi ipinalabas ng biased media.” (Banat By reacts to another piece of good news about the Duterte admin that wasn’t reported on by the biased media.)

The claim is false.

As of writing, there are mainstream media news articles featuring Clark International Airport’s nomination to the Prix Versailles that came out before Banat By’s August 20 livestream. Examples are articles from BusinessMirror, ABS-CBN News, Manila Bulletin, Balita, Philstar.com, Philippine News Agency (PNA), and Philippine Information Agency (PIA), all published on August 19.

Aside from Clark International Airport, the other selections for the “Airports” category for the Prix Versailles awards in 2021 are Berlin Brandenburg Airport Willy Brandt (Berlin, Germany); Athens International Airport, South Wing (Athens, Greece); Hazrat Sultan International Airport (Turkistan, Kazakhstan); New Plymouth Airport (New Plymouth, New Zealand); and LaGuardia Airport, Terminal B (New York, NY, United States). The “World Winners” will be announced on November 2021. 

Rappler has fact-checked Banat By before for claiming that the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) said there are no extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. – 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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