FALSE: Photo of Manila Bay during Aquino’s term

Claim:

A meme shows a garbage-ridden Manila Bay supposedly taken during the term of former president Benigno Aquino III, compared with a photo of a cleaner beach supposedly taken during the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

At least 4 Facebook users and 3 Facebook pages posted this graphic, with their posts acquiring 460 reactions, 54 comments, and 1,029 shares overall as of writing. This claim was spotted through Facebook Claim Check, a tool that detects dubious content on the platform, and through social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle.

Rating: FALSE

The facts:

Using reverse image search and search using keywords, Rappler found that the photo of the dirty Manila Bay, supposedly from the term of Aquino, was actually taken during the term of Duterte.

The photo, taken by Miguel de Guzman, was used in an article published by The Philippine Star on December 17, 2018. It was captioned, “File photo shows a scavenger collecting reusable materials in Manila Bay after Typhoon Ompong hit the country in September.”

In September 2019, Agence France-Presse fact-checked a separate claim that also misrepresented this photo.

The graphic used for the claim was divided in two sections. The top section showed a photo of Aquino, the text “Walang nagreklamo (no one complained),” and a photo of Manila Bay strewn with trash, while the bottom portion showed a photo of Duterte, the text “Pinutakte ng reklamo (bombarded with complaints),” and a photo of an apparent beach clean-up.

The meme appears to have been circulated in the wake of criticisms against the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ recent move to fill Manila Baywalk with synthetic white sand.

Meanwhile, issues concerning Manila Bay also arose during Aquino’s term. For one, multiple sectors opposed Manila Bay reclamation plans during that period.

In the past, Rappler fact-checked other photos that were misrepresented and which drew false comparisons between the administrations of Aquino and Duterte. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

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