CLAIM: P13 trillion of the country’s P16 trillion national debt was incurred during the Duterte administration.
RATING: FALSE
A Facebook user falsely claimed that P13 trillion of the current P16 trillion national debt was incurred solely during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The post of Sangkay Janjan featured a screengrab of reports from GMA News and Inquirer.net, but misinterpreted the context of the data.
According to data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the national debt stood at P5,948 billion by the end of former President Benigno Aquino III’s term.
The debt increased to P12.79 trillion by the end of Duterte’s presidency in June 2022, marking a P6.842-trillion increase during his administration.
Under the current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the national debt continued to increase, reaching P16.75 trillion as of the end of April 2025, nearly three years into his presidency.
As of writing, the Facebook post has drawn 946 reactions and 243 shares.
Sangkay Janjan, or John Anthony Jaboya in real life, was the subject of an investigative report by Rappler.
His YouTube channel, which now has more than 1.5 million subscribers, has been flagged for spreading conspiracy theories about Covid-19 and the Marcos family’s legacy.
After Rappler’s investigative piece was published, Jaboya took down 151 videos, while setting the other 16 to private. Most of these videos attacked then-Vice President Leni Robredo and the Aquino family. Kylyn Kyth Cuñado
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