FACT CHECK: San Miguel responsible for battery energy storage, not Marcos

Claim: The Marcos administration is responsible for the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in the country.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The TikTok video has 40,700 views, 1,964 likes, and 179 comments as of writing.

San Miguel owned:  According to Siemens Energy’s website, battery energy systems are rechargeable batteries that can store energy from different sources and discharge it when needed. Siemens Energy is an energy company based in Munich, Germany.

In the Philippines, BESS technology was “pioneered in the Philippines as far back as 2016″ by the Masinloc BESS, according to San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) website. San Miguel Global Power, the energy arm of SMC, procured the Masinloc BESS back in 2018.

The clips shown in the video were from the inauguration of San Miguel Global Power’s BESS project last March 31, 2023, in Limay, Bataan, led by Marcos. Even Marcos himself did not grab the credit for the project. During the inauguration of BESS, Marcos thanked SMC in his speech: “I thank San Miguel Corporation and Ramon Ang for another important contribution to national development.”

Similar claims regarding Marcos’ supposed involvement in different projects have been brought up before. A previous Rappler fact-check debunked a claim that Marcos was responsible for the Bangui Wind Farm in Ilocos Norte. The Bangui Wind Farm, however, is a project of the NorthWind Power Development Corporation (NPDC), based on a wind mapping study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the United States in 1996. – Andrei Santos/Rappler.com

Andrei Santos 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.