FACT CHECK: Ombudsman Remulla did not reveal evidence of Marcos’ ill health

Claim: Ombudsman Crispin “Boying” Remulla publicly revealed evidence proving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is seriously ill and has been hospitalized.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A YouTube video uploaded on May 3 by a channel named “PINAS NEWS INSIDER” bears the title: “Wala na! Finish na! Umamin na si Boying Remulla! VP Sara mag take over kana! Nilaglag nasi BBM tamba?” 

(It’s over! Finished! Boying Remulla has confessed! VP Sara takes over now! BBM was exposed, correct?)

The thumbnail shows Remulla holding a red USB drive, with an arrow pointing to an image of a bed-ridden Marcos at St. Luke’s Medical Center. Other figures including Vice President Sara Duterte and former House speaker Martin Romualdez appear on the left. 

Text on the thumbnail reads: “Malubha na ang pangulo? Heto na ang USB!” (The president’s condition is serious? Here’s the USB!) and “Boying, kumanta na! USB sinapubliko na! VP Sara take over kana!” 

(Boying has confessed! USB made public! VP Sara, you take over now!)

As of writing, the video has garnered over 107,000 views and 12,000 likes.

The facts: Remulla has made no statements about President Marcos’ health. He did not say Marcos is seriously ill in the hospital nor did he release any USB containing damaging evidence about the president. None of Remulla’s official channels or media reports show any record of such statements either. 

The video provides no such evidence either. Its actual content is political commentary by Duterte-aligned vlogger Coach Oli discussing former congressman Mike Defensor’s April 29 news forum. 

In it, Defensor discussed the Ombudsman’s plunder complaint against Romualdez — not Marcos’ health. The commentary only speculated on the link between Romualdez and Marcos in the multi-million-peso flood control scandal. 

The thumbnail’s claims are completely fabricated. The image of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was flagged as “likely edited” by the AI-image detection tools, Undetectable AI and ZeroGPT, while no records from Malacañang or credible news reports show Marcos bedridden. The content appears to have been created solely for clickbait.  

In good health: President Marcos continues performing his duties and making public appearances. Malacañang has consistently refuted rumors about his alleged failing health. 

In April 2026, he challenged critics to join him in exercise after health rumors circulated online. He even tried to show he was jogging and doing jumping jacks while being interviewed by the press (READ: [DECODED] How the internet decided the President was dying).

Verified: A similar claim involving Marcos Jr.’s alleged medical report from St. Luke’s Medical Center was debunked in early February. Since then, Rappler has fact-checked several false and misleading claims about Marcos’ health.

• FACT CHECK: Marcos is alive; post misuses old news report on hospitalization
• FACT CHECK: Marcos does not have cancer, says Palace
• FACT CHECK: No, Sara Duterte won’t be proclaimed president over Marcos health rumors
• FACT CHECK: No SC ruling yet on Marcos health disclosure petition
• FACT CHECK: No reports of Marcos in critical condition at the hospital

  – Cyril Bocar/Rappler.com

Efren Cyril Bocar is a journalist from Llorente, Eastern Samar who graduated with a degree in English Language Studies at the Visayas State University. Cyril is also a graduate of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024. 

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