FALSE: Nostradamus predicts Bongbong Marcos will lead Philippines in 2022

At a glance

• Claim: Nostradamus foretold that former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. would rule the Philippines.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Nostradamus never mentioned in his book of prophesies the name Bongbong Marcos nor the term “pearl of the orient seas,” referring to the Philippines. There is no historical record of anyone using the term “pearl of the orient seas” until 1751, 196 years after Nostradamus’ prophesies.
• Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, a video circulating on Tiktok containing this claim has received 16,300 likes and is still accumulating views and interactions. It was uploaded on June 24.

Complete details

According to a Tiktok video posted on June 24, French astrologer and physician Michel de Nostredame, better known as Nostradamus, supposedly predicted that the Philippines would be ruled by Bongbong Marcos.

An account with the username “@ericp765” uploaded the video and has 77,500 followers so far. The video has 16,300 likes, as of writing.

The voice-over in the beginning of the video said that Nostradamus predicted the following: “Isanglibo’t siyam na raan limangput pito (1957), may isang sanggol na isisilang sa Luzon, ito’y sanggol ng kapayapaan at ng hustisya, at dugo ng pag-ibig, isang inosenteng bata ang isisilang sa pinagpalang lupa ng perlas ng silangan.”

(In 1957, a baby will be born in Luzon, a baby of peace and justice, blood made of love, an innocent child will be born in the blessed land of the pearl of the orient.)

Later on in the video, it says that part of Nostradamus’ supposed prophecy stated that Marcos would rule the Philippines in 2022, after the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.

This claim is false. Nostradamus made no such prophecy.

Searching for the words and phrases in the English version of Nostradamus’ book of prophesies did not return any quatrain that contained the word “pearl” or “Luzon.”

All of Nostradamus’ quatrains were written in a vague, unspecified manner. In the alleged foretelling of the death of King Henry II of France, he never mentioned the name of the king but he wrote,  “The young lion will overcome the older one, On the field of combat in a single battle; He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage, Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death.”

According to the book Philippines (Cultures of the World) by Lily Rose R. Tope and Detch P. Nonan-Mercado, published in 2002, the priest and historian Fr. Juan J. del Gado was the first to address the Philippines as the “Perla Del Mar De Oriente” or the “Pearl of the Orient Seas” in 1751. This is approximately two centuries after Nostradamus’ book was published in 1555. The term was also popularized by Jose Rizal in his work Mi Ultimo Adios (1897).

Fact-checking outlets like Politifact and Snopes have also debunked fake Nostradamus prophesies before.

Aside from the video on Tiktok, several versions of this claim are also circulating online. One text version of the claim in English refers to the 2016 election: “By the 16th year after the new millennium of the twenty-first century, a new leader shall rule the pearl of the orient (The Philippines) island in Asia. His name has eight letters, beginning [with] the second of the alphabet (That’s letter B for Bongbong). This man shall change the history of the whole world and every man shall shout his name twice like the sound of a big bell (Bongbong).” This passage is also not in Nostradamus’ book.

Marcos ran for the vice presidency in 2016 and lost to Vice President Leni Robredo. The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, on February 16 unanimously dismissed the electoral protest filed by Marcos against Robredo.

Marcos and Robredo are running for president in the 2022 elections. – Angelica Flores Juan/Rappler.com

Angelica Flores 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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