SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: A social media post shows photos of the Philippines’ military equipment, specifically assault vehicles, missile systems, gunboats, howitzer units, tanks, and an attack helicopter, supposedly acquired during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post has over 200 reactions and 5 shares as of writing. It was found in a Facebook group with over 46,000 members.
Not under Marcos Jr.’s term: Most of the military equipment shown in the series of Facebook photos were acquired or used before President Marcos Jr.’s term began in June 2022.
The following photo of the Amphibious Assault Vehicles was used in the Philippine Navy’s “Sail Plan 2020” calendar, the file of which can be found in the Navy’s website:
The photo of a Philippine Army soldier practicing with the tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missile system and Improved Target Acquisition System was taken on September 27, 2021, and posted on October 5, 2021, in a website of the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
The photo of the Philippine Navy’s new gunboat, fast attack interdiction craft-missile (FAIC-M) BRP-Nestor Acero was posted on Naval Forces Western Mindanao’s Facebook page on December 11, 2022, welcoming the newly-commissioned gunboat.
According to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) report, the acquisition of the FAIC-Ms was part of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) Modernization Program in 2019.
In a PNA report, the Philippine Air Force received four Turkish-made T129 “Atak” helicopters last March and last November, which President Marcos Jr. fully supported. The T129s, however, were part of a government-to-government contract with Turkey signed in July 2020.
There are no recent reports of a howitzer unit acquisition under the current administration.
Not in the Philippines: According to a PNA report, the Department of National Defense signed a contract in January 2022 for the acquisition of the Indian-made BrahMos medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missiles.
A photo of the missiles was included in the aforementioned Facebook post. A PNA report, citing the Indian embassy in Manila, said the initial delivery of the missile system to Manila is expected in 2023.
Two non-Philippine flags with orange, white, and green stripes (such as India‘s) were also spotted in the background of the photo, further indicating that the photo was not taken in the Philippines.
A non-Philippine flag with white, red, yellow, and blue horizontal stripes (such as Romania or Chad‘s) was also spotted in the background of the military tank photo, indicating that the photo was not taken in the Philippines, too. – Laurice Angeles/Rappler.com
Laurice Angeles is a Chemistry graduate at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. She is a volunteer under Rappler’s Research unit.
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