Petitions challenging certain provisions of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) have been filed before the Supreme Court in various years, including one in 2025 that Sen. Rodante Marcoleta incorrectly claimed was the only case that reached the high tribunal.  Just last year, a group of petitioners led by then Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) filed a petition  asking the Supreme Court to block the transfer of P89.9 billion in unus

The Commission on Elections has not conducted any manual count for the 2025 senatorial election, contrary to a claim by former broadcaster Jay Sonza.  Sonza falsely alleged in his Oct. 20 Facebook post  that a supposed “manual counting” produced a different set of winning senators, naming Jimmy Bondoc, Jayvee Hinlo and Raul Lambino of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) Laban, as well as independent candidates Vic Rodriguez, Doc Mata and Apollo Quiboloy who were endorsed by th

Former President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly threatened witnesses and critics of his war on drugs, contrary to  his daughter and current Vice President Sara Duterte’s claim that he never intimidated anyone. Public threats were a hallmark of the Duterte administration. A 2020 report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights found  that his harmful rhetoric and outright “permission to kill” reinforced his bloody drug war campaign. Citing Duterte’s record of th

The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading on Oct. 13 a proposed P6.793 national budget for 2026 under House Bill No. 4058  with no allocation for “ghost classrooms.”  That same evening, however, Cavite 4th District Rep. Francisco “Kiko” Barzaga uploaded  a social media card falsely claiming the chamber had approved a P1.28 trillion budget for “ghost classrooms.”  The post was meant to be satirical, but netizens took it seriously and used it to criticize

An AI-generated photo showing a sculpture of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the Netherlands has circulated online following his proclamation as newly elected Davao City mayor, with some netizens mistaking it to be real. The Facebook page Muslim Filipino, Ngayon, posted  the image on May 15 with the caption: ART made by Netherland People ❤️❤️❤️ #AI The use of artificial intelligence was subtly indicated through the #AI hashtag, though the post itself did not clarify that

A false rumor that reelected Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto got actress Atasha Muhlach pregnant–first circulated in 2024–has gone viral again on social media shortly after the May 12 midterm elections.  Facebook page NL Star Buzz posted  on May 14 a photo collage featuring the Muhlach family and Sotto captioned: AGA MUHLACH, HE HAS ACCEPTED ATASHA MUHLACH'S PREGNANCY WITH VICO SOTTO! Sotto has not issued a public statement regarding the revived rumor. Muhlach addressed the rumor