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Claim: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gave financial aid to cardiologist and online health personality Dr. Willie Ong following the revelation of his cancer diagnosis.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The video was posted on a YouTube channel with 186,000 subscribers on September 18. As of this writing, it has 218,000 views and 4,100 likes.
The claim can be found in the video’s title that says, “DOC WILLIE ONG NAPAHAGULHOL SA BINIGAY NA MALAKING HALAGA NI PRESIDENT BONGBONG MARCOS SA KANYA!”
(Doc Willie Ong bursts into tears over the large amount given to him by President Bongbong Marcos!)
The video’s narration claimed that Marcos personally visited and checked on Ong at the hospital and offered financial help. However, the narrator did not disclose the amount.
The video also claimed that Marcos promised that it would not be the first and last time he would help the doctor in his time of need.
The last part of the message looped a clip of Ong crying, penned with a message of gratitude for Marcos.
The facts: Ong told Rappler via email that he did not receive any financial aid from Marcos.
“All fake news. Pres. Marcos never reached out to me,” Ong said.
Marcos also did not personally go to Ong’s hospital in Singapore for a visit. In a postscript note on his post thanking Vice President Sara Duterte’s well wishes, Ong said Marcos sent “feelers” through Cesar Chavez instead.
Edited thumbnail: The thumbnail of the video contains a manipulated photo of Marcos visiting Ong. Reverse image search results showed that the photo was originally posted by Philippine Star on September 10 from his visit at the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) for the opening of the Bagong Urgent Care and Ambulatory Service (BUCAS) program. The post states that the photo was sourced from PPA pool photos by Revoli Cortez.
Screenshots of Ong’s YouTube videos about his condition were also used throughout the video, specifically clips of his video from September 16. In the video, Ong discussed several developments regarding his health, referencing the country’s failed healthcare system. Later on, he broke down and talked about the corruption in the country led by our politicians.
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Exaggerated media: The video used multiple screenshots of Ong’s videos explaining his current medical situation, specifically showing photos that were emotional and out of context. Last September, Ong revealed that he was suffering from sarcoma, a rare abdominal cancer.
Ong is known for his medical videos and advice posted on various social media platforms, giving health tips to his followers.
He also tried to enter politics and was the running mate of former Manila mayor Isko Moreno in the 2022 presidential elections. Despite his illness, Ong filed his certificate of candidacy last October 3 as senator for the 2025 midterm elections. – Efren Cyril Bocar/Rappler.com
Efren Cyril Bocar is a student journalist from Llorente, Eastern Samar, enrolled in English Language Studies at the Visayas State University. A managing editor of Amaranth, Cyril is an Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2024.
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. You may also report dubious claims to the #FactsFirstPH tipline by messaging Rappler on Facebook or Newsbreak via Twitter direct message. You may also report through our Viber fact check chatbot. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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