FACT CHECK: Video doesn’t show Ferdinand E. Marcos has China gold account

Claim: A YouTube video claims that Marcos has a China gold account.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The false claim on YouTube was posted by PweDelie TV with the title: “GRABE NAGKAGULO NA! WOW MARCOS ACCOUNT SA CHINA MGA CHINESE NAKIISA NA KAY PANGULONG BONGBONG MARCOS (It’s chaos already! Wow, Marcos’ account in China, Chinese people are now supporting President Bongbong Marcos).  The video has 211,000 views and 289 comments.

What the video shows:  The video presents a document that is purportedly a “re-confirmation of [a] custodial safekeeping receipt” with account code name Severino Sta. Romana et. al and Tan Kha Hee. The certificate indicates that there were 11,000 metric tons of gold delivered to the vault and warehouse of Posang Bank, a sister company of the People’s Bank of China. 

The supposed custodial safekeeping receipt shows the signatures of former president Ferdinand E. Marcos, then-Central Bank of the Philippines governor Andres Castillo, former US president Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower, and Queen Elizabeth II. The document doesn’t make any explicit mention of the cash and gold bullion being the property of the Marcos family.

The video then proceeds to show Marcos Jr. gracing the 33rd Biennial Convention of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry on March 23.

No evidence: Despite the lack of evidence and proof, there are ongoing claims still being spread online regarding the supposed substantial amount of gold owned by the Marcos family. These assertions have been refuted by Rappler’s fact-checking team, including those being promoted by the same YouTube channel.

These are some of the claims that have been invoked in various contexts and have been repeatedly debunked by Rappler’s fact-checking team:

• FACT CHECK: Marcos’ gold account won’t be used to advance science and tech in PH
• FACT CHECK: Marcos’ gold account won’t be used to strengthen PH agriculture
• FACT CHECK: DPWH projects not funded by Marcos gold account’s earned interest 
• FACT CHECK: Video doesn’t show Marcos has huge amount of gold hidden in Japan
• FACT CHECK: Video doesn’t show Marcos has Saudi Arabia gold account
• FACT CHECK: Marcos doesn’t have ‘over a million metric tons’ of gold in banks worldwide
• FACT CHECK: Marcos doesn’t have ‘over a million metric tons’ of gold in banks worldwide
• FACT CHECK: Marcos Sr. Letter of Instruction prescribing distribution of gold does not exist – Jezreel Ines/Rappler

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