FALSE: ‘Philippines 2000’ is Marcos’ vision for PH using his wealth

At a glance:

• Claim: “Philippines 2000” is a vision for the Philippines of former president Ferdinand Marcos using his wealth.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: “Philippines 2000” is the strategic framework for Philippine development of former president Fidel V. Ramos, who served from 1992-1998. 
• Why we fact-checked this: The claim was made in a video by the Facebook page “Ophir” on March 24. As of writing, the video had reached 650,600 views and the post had 42,000 reactions, 2,900 comments, and 40,000 shares. The claim was also found in another false claim repeatedly posted by the Facebook page “Filipino Future.”

Complete details:

On March 24, the Facebook page “Ophir” posted a video that falsely mentioned “Philippines 2000” is a vision of former president Ferdinand Marcos for the Philippines using his wealth.

The video frame with the claim about “Philippines 2000” read: “Ito yong time na pumunta si former First Lady Imelda Marcos sa Senado upang makiusap sa kanila na tulungan siyang maipatupad ang Huling Habilin at Testamento ni Pangulong Marcos para sa Sambayanang Pilipino, upang maiahon na sa kahirapan ang mamamayan at matupad na ang vision ni Pangulong Marcos na tinawag niyang PHILIPPINES 2000 at Masagana 99.“

(This is the time when former first lady Imelda Marcos went to the Senate to plead with them to help her carry out the Last Will and Testament of President Marcos for the Filipino people, to lift the citizenry from poverty and achieve the vision of President Marcos which he called PHILIPPINES 2000 and Masagana 99.)

The attempt to link “Philippines 2000” with Marcos’ wealth is shown in another video frame which read: “Dahil sa year 2000, tapos na ang first 50 years time deposit ng mga Marcos Wealth na naka invest sa ibat ibang mga bangko at kailangan nang i-claim ng beneficiary na walang iba kundi ang idineklara ni Marcos na claimant at beneficiary nito, na siyang ‘People of the Philippine Islands.‘”

(Because in year 2000, the first 50 years time deposit of Marcos wealth invested in various banks will end and it has to be claimed by the beneficiary which is no one else but its claimant and beneficiary whom Marcos declared as the “People of the Philippine Islands.”)

As of writing, the video had 650,600 views, while the post had 42,000 reactions, 2,900 comments, and 40,000 shares.

References to “Philippines 2000” in relation to Marcos’ wealth can also be found in photos of a purported Letter of Instruction from Marcos about the Ang Bagong Lipunan currency. This is contained in posts on the Facebook page “Filipino Future.” The letter was fact-checked and shown to be a fabrication. (READ: FALSE: Ferdinand Marcos’ Letter of Instruction for Bagong Lipunan currency)

The claim about “Philippines 2000” being a vision of Marcos using his wealth is false. 

“Philippines 2000” is the strategic Philippine development framework of former president Fidel V. Ramos, who served from 1992-1998. Multiple documents in the Official Gazette acknowledge that “Philippines 2000” envisioned the Philippines attaining the status of a newly industrialized country by the year 2000.

According to Ramos’ second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26, 1993, the two components of “Philippines 2000” are the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan for 1993-1998, which aimed to boost the Philippine economy “guided by the principles of people empowerment and global excellence,” while addressing “the larger environment – the political, social, and cultural climate” to enable economic growth. 

Ramos’ SONA also mentioned five areas of societal concern of “Philippines 2000”: political stability and peace and order, the economy, environment, the quality of government, and human resource development. No specific mention of Marcos’ wealth was made in the SONA. 

Also, the exact search term “Philippines 2000” could not be found in documents in the Official Gazette before 1993. 

While Marcos indeed promulgated a “Long-Term Development Plan up to the year 2000” in his Presidential Decree No. 1200, s. 1977, there was no reference to the name “Philippines 2000.” The name “Philippines 2000” also could not be found in the scanned copy of Marcos’ long-term development plan from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) website.

Rappler has fact-checked multiple false claims about Marcos’ wealth before, including claims of his alleged wealth in the form of gold.

We had also fact-checked “Ophir” when it claimed that Carlos P. Romulo represented the Philippines in the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, along with “Filipino Future,” multiple times in the past. – Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

More fact-checks on “Filipino Future”:

• FALSE: Carlos P. Romulo represented PH in 1944 Bretton Woods Conference
• FALSE: Marcos was a guerrilla leader during World War II
• FALSE: George W. Bush says Philippines is wealthiest country in the world
• FALSE: Ferdinand Marcos’ Letter of Instruction for Bagong Lipunan currency
• FALSE: Myanmar used Smartmatic machines in 2020 elections
• FALSE: Philippines is rich in water called deuterium
• FALSE: US federal gov’t watermarked ballots for 2020 election
• FALSE: PH economy got worse after Marcos was ousted

This article was written by a volunteer of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program, a 5-week exclusive and hands-on training on detecting, investigating, and verifying online misinformation and disinformation.

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