By Benjamin Pulta

STOP FAKE NEWS. Presidential Communications Office Acting Secretary Dave Gomez (from left), Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida and Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda raise “stop fake news” banners after signing a memorandum of agreement at the Department of Justice in Manila on April 13, 2026. Vida on Wednesday (April 15) said they will evaluate the case endorsed by the PCO, questioning three Facebook accounts behind the fabricated health claims against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (PNA photo by Ben Pulta)

MANILA – The Department of Justice will be evaluating three Facebook accounts endorsed by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) for prosecution after spreading fabricated health claims against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Justice Secretary Frederick Vida confirmed the PCO endorsement, saying his office will rule on the cases within 10 days.

“Nasa proseso po ng evaluation. We have 10 days to do that (evaluation). It will not take more than that,” he said in a chance interview with reporters on Wednesday.

“Meron iba ibang post na para malito ang sambayanan. Meron kami ine-explore na pag nagbalita ng negatibo kinakagat ng kababayan. Sinasadya para ginagamit kasi yung propensity ng ating kababayan na laging sundan ay yung negative (There are various posts meant to confuse the people. We are exploring that when negative news is reported, our countrymen follow it. It is deliberately used because of the propensity of our countrymen to always follow the negative news),” Vida said.

The PCO, through its Anti-Fake News Desk (AFND), endorsed the accounts for appropriate action, namely “Iloy Bugris: The Queen of Revelations,” which, the PCO said, even solicited financial contributions from viewers and displayed a purported medical document that was fabricated.

Another posted account, “Rigondola Ping,” manipulated images depicting the President in a state of physical distress, while a third account, “Crage Anderpal,” fabricated a news graphic falsely claiming an official confirmation of a serious presidential health condition.

“The deliberate fabrication and dissemination of false information–particularly during a declared state of national energy emergency under EO No. 110– is a crime under Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code (Unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances) with penalties elevated when committed online under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012,” the PCO said in its statement.

President Marcos on Tuesday jogged and did a few rounds of jumping jacks on the grounds of Malacañang to dispel rumors about his health. (PNA)