FACT CHECK: Photo of Renato Reyes still joining rallies under Marcos taken before 2022

Claim: A photo of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary-general Renato Reyes shows his alleged attendance at a rally during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The photo has a description that says “Reyes on BBM.”

It is part of a composite photo of Reyes consisting of four other photos, each having a description claiming it was taken during the administration of a past president. The photos have the following descriptions: “Reyes on Erap,” “Reyes on Gloria,” “Reyes on Noynoy,” and “Reyes on PRRD” The composite photo also has a description that says, “Rally is life.”

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The composite photo can be found on a post on March 1, 2023, on the Facebook page “Hukbo.com,” with 337 reactions, 44 comments, and 58 shares as of writing. The post also denigrates Reyes: “Renato “Jobless” Reyes: Through the Years.”

The composite photo was meant to show that all Reyes does is attend rallies, showing photos of him taken during the administrations of past presidents starting from former president Joseph Ejercito Estrada. The photo shows Reyes in a rally allegedly taken during Marcos’ term to show he continues to attend rallies to this day.

Hukbo.com’s post was shared by Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, former spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and former undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (now the Presidential Communications Office under Marcos) – both under the Rodrigo Duterte administration. As of writing, Badoy’s post already has 577 reactions, 61 comments, and 24 shares. 

Badoy says in her post: “Ayannnn.. updated na! Kasama na si PBBM. Kakahiya naman sa consistent efforts ni Baba, wala man lang resibo para sa mga boss amo chip nya sa CPP.  Pero bat wala si Aguinaldo? Halaaa 🤣” (There, it’s already updated! PBBM is already included. It’s embarrassing to have no proof to show to his bosses in the CPP of the consistent efforts of Baba [referring to Reyes]. But why isn’t Aguinaldo there?)

The bottom line: Reyes’ photo with the “Reyes on BBM” description was taken before Marcos became president.

Mismatch of “Reyes on BBM”: Reyes’ photo with the description “Reyes on BBM” already existed before Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration began in June 2022. 

Examples of web content where the photo can be seen before Marcos’ inauguration on June 30, 2022 include:

• a comment made on August 30, 2021 in a post in the official Facebook page of News5
• a Facebook post on September 11, 2020 in the page “Bantay Bayan PH”
• an article published on August 5, 2020 in the website “The Manila Star” 

The four other photos with the descriptions “Reyes on Erap,” “Reyes on Gloria,” and “Reyes on Noynoy” can be verified to have been taken during the administrations specified. The photo with the description “Reyes on PRRD” was posted on Reyes’ Facebook account in 2018, although labeled as a “throwback photo.”

Previous fact-checks of photos that didn’t match with descriptions:

• HINDI TOTOO: Mga larawan ng pagtulong ni Bongbong Marcos pagkatapos ng kalamidad (December 30, 2021)
• FALSE: Photos of Surigao bridge during Aquino and Duterte admins (September 22, 2020)
• FALSE: Photo of housing project during Duterte administration (September 16, 2020)
• FALSE: Boracay photos in ‘disente’ vs ‘bastos’ times (July 8, 2020)

Previous fact-check stories about Reyes are as follows:

• FALSE: Renato Reyes’ son crashes sports car in Pampanga (April 3, 2021)
• FALSE: Photo of Renato Reyes ‘panic buying’ at S&R (March 15, 2020)

– Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

Percival Bueser 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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