FACT CHECK: No Marcos declaration of revolutionary government

Claim: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a revolutionary government. 

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim was posted by a YouTube channel with over 841,000  subscribers. As of writing, the video has garnered 239,970 views, 6,900 likes, and 1,179 comments. 

The thumbnail of the video bears the text: “Hala! Rev-Gov na. Kongreso wawalisin na! Confirmed! Good News! Nagdeklara na!” 

(Congress will be dissolved for a revolutionary government! Confirmed! Good news! It has been declared!)

The facts: Marcos did not declare a revolutionary government. There is no official announcement from Marcos’ verified Facebook page nor the Office of the President about such a declaration. 

The video did not provide evidence to back up its claim. Instead, it merely shows a clip from a January 10 SMNI interview with former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo. According to Panelo, former president Rodrigo Duterte is urging Marcos to declare a revolutionary government and assume both executive and legislative authority.

The misleading claim circulated amid the recent push for charter change in Congress.

Revolutionary government: Article II Section I of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states: “The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”

A revolutionary government, if declared, would dismantle the branches of government and abandon the Constitution to build a new system as determined by the revolution’s leader. 

During his presidency, Duterte had toyed with the idea of a revolutionary government, citing destabilization threats as a possible basis for declaring one. (LOOK BACK: Campaigns to set up a revolutionary gov’t in the Philippines)

In 2021, Rappler debunked a false claim of Duterte declaring a revolutionary government.

Previous declarations: The Philippines previously had a revolutionary government established by Emilio Aguinaldo in 1898 during the Philippine revolution against Spanish colonial rule, and in 1986 when former president Corazon Aquino established a provisional revolutionary government following the ouster of dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Aquino’s revolutionary government sought to reinstate democracy. It facilitated the transition to a new democratic government and the ratification of the 1987 Constitution. – Marie Flor Cabarrubias/Rappler.com

Marie Flor Cabarrubias 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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