Saudi Arabia pledged a “gift” to around 10,000 displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were uncompensated by construction firms that had gone bankrupt, not to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a YouTube video misleads.
In the video posted Dec. 29 by YouTube channel Kaalam PH, a photo of Marcos and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shown at the 0:11 mark was accompanied by the text overlay that also appears on the video title:
HIGANTENG REGALO NG SAUDI ARABIA KAY PRESIDENT BBM (Giant gift of Saudi Arabia to President BBM)
Marcos is commonly referred to by the initial BBM.
The original photo was taken on Nov. 18 last year when the two leaders had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bangkok. Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople later announced that Saudi Arabia will shoulder the unpaid salaries of around 10,000 OFWs who were laid off by construction companies that went bankrupt in 2015 and 2016.
Ople said the deal, which Prince Mohammed announced as his gift, was finalized a few days before the bilateral meeting.
However, the YouTube video, in its title, thumbnail and intro gives the impression that Saudi Arabia’s gift, described vividly in the voice-over narration as “super laki at super ganda (very big and very beautiful),” is for Marcos himself.
The rest of its contents discussed topics outside the context of the clickbait claim, albeit briefly showing a video clip from ABS-CBN News Channel’s Nov. 19, 2022 broadcast at the 3:19 mark.
As of writing, the YouTube video has gained 412,000 views, 7,000 likes, and 462 comments. The channel which was created on Aug. 1, 2019 has 931,000 subscribers. (JA)