Claim: Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Duterte said in a speech delivered on January 20 that the K-12 program was already abolished. This was part of the DepEd’s Basic Education Report (BER) 2023 event held at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim can be found in a video uploaded by the YouTube channel “PINAS NEWS INSIDER” on March 15. As of writing, the video already had 155,000 views, 4,500 likes, and 469 comments. 

The video shows clips of Duterte speaking about the K-12 program from time mark 1:03 to 1:20 and from 2:20 to 3:21. The title states: “KAKAPASOK LANG FINALLY! MALACANANG TlNANGGAL na DEPED K-12 PROGRAM BAGONG UTOS VPSARA PBBM GOODNEWS!” (Just in finally! Malacanang removed DepEd K-12 Program, new order of VPSara PBBM [President Bongbong Marcos] good news!)

The bottom line: As of writing, the K-12 program remains in effect. Nowhere in Duterte’s January 30 BER 2023 speech portions shown in the video did she say that the K-12 program has been abolished already. 

Duterte’s full speech: Nowhere in the transcript of Duterte’s full speech posted on the website of the Office of the Vice President on January 30 did the education secretary say that the K-12 program has been abolished already. The entire speech can be watched on the Radio Television-Malacañang Facebook page.

Use of dubious time labels: The video used false time labels, too, making it appear that Duterte’s speech was new when, in fact, the video was uploaded more than a month already after Duterte’s speech on January 30.

Other previous fact checks of K-12 abolition claims: Rappler had already fact-checked on February 3 the same false K-12 abolition claim which was found in an earlier video from the same YouTube channel “PINAS NEWS INSIDER.” That video referred to Duterte’s January 30 speech as well.

Here are other fact-checks from Rappler of false K-12 abolition claims:

• FACT CHECK: No law passed abolishing K-12 program (February 22, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: Hindi kinumpirma ni Sara Duterte na bubuwagin ang K-12 (January 17, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: Kailangan ng panibagong batas upang mabuwag ang K-12 (January 16, 2023)
• FALSE: VP Sara Duterte will scrap K to 12 program (July 12, 2022)
• FALSE: Duterte scraps K to 12 program (May 24, 2019)

– Percival Bueser

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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