FALSE: Media did not report on alleged vote-buying in Cavite

At a glance:

Claim: The mainstream media did not report the alleged vote-buying in Cavite, which was supposedly organized by supporters of Cavite Governor (then-gubernatorial candidate) Jonvic Remulla.
Rating: FALSE
The facts: At least 7 mainstream media outlets reported about the incident in 2019, including Remulla’s statement saying that those arrested were mere poll watchers who were distributing the travel allowance of their colleagues.
Why we fact-checked this: The video containing this claim had over 40,000 views on YouTube as of writing. It came from a YouTube channel that has repeatedly posted false information before.

Complete details:

YouTube channel “Showbiz Fanaticz” uploaded a video on March 14, falsely claiming that the mainstream media did not report the alleged vote-buying in Cavite, which was supposedly organized by supporters of Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla.

The video showed a clip of police questioning several alleged supporters of Remulla about the envelopes they were holding. “Showbiz Fanaticz” credited the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police as the source of the clip.

The video’s titled read: “ITO ANG HINDI INILABAS NG MEDIA: Mga TAUHAN ni Gov JONVIC REMULLA ARESTADO MATAPOS BUMILI NG BOTO!” (This is what the media did not show: Governor Jonvic Remulla’s staff arrested after buying votes!)

This is false. Several media outlets, including Rappler, reported about the incident in May 2019. These legitimate media organizations also included Remulla’s side in their reports, which was left out in the video by “Showbiz Fanaticz.” Remulla was running for governor at the time.

Among the news outlets that included the video from CIDG in their reports were CNN Philippines, ABS-CBN, and GMA News – both in its State of the Nation and Saksi news programs. Other mainstream media organizations such as Rappler, Inquirer.net, Manila Bulletin, and Philippine Star also reported about the incident in article form.

All of the reports from these organizations included Remulla’s statement that those arrested were mere poll watchers who were distributing the travel allowance of their colleagues.

Following this incident, a Cavite voter filed a disqualification case against Remulla before the Commission on Elections. Remulla won by a wide margin in the 2019 elections.

As of writing, the video containing the false claim had over 40,000 views and 300 comments on YouTube. The Rappler team spotted the claim via social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle.

Rappler has fact-checked posts and videos by “Showbiz Fanaticz” multiple times. – Pauline Macaraeg/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

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