Claim: A Letter of Instruction (LOI) document signed by former president Ferdinand E. Marcos on January 12, 1983, prescribed the distribution of so-called “Marcos gold” kept in a bank deposit.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A video uploaded on March 23 in the YouTube channel “PweDelie TV” titled “NAKAKAKILABOT NA MARCOS ACCOUNT! GRABE PAG-ANGAT NG PILIPINAS SA PAMUMUNO NI PBBM HINDI NA MAPIGILAN” (Terrifying Marcos account! Rise of the Philippines under the leadership of PBBM can’t be stopped) showed the text of the claimed Letter of Instruction. As of writing, the video has already had 39,424 views.

The claimed LOI document was preceded in the video by a claimed “Gold Bullion Certificate” from Banco de Oro Unibank or BDO issued on January 12, 1983, the same as what’s in the document. The certificate also had the watermark “BANCO DE ORO ORIGINAL COPY” in the middle.

The bottom line: No such Letter of Instruction prescribing the distribution of “Marcos gold” exists. 

Official Gazette search results: A check with the Official Gazette confirms that while there was a Letter of Instruction signed by Marcos on January 12, 1983 – Letter of Instruction No. 1282, s. 1983 – it does not contain the text of the claimed LOI shown in the video. The actual LOI instead details the uses of intelligence funds to be allocated or released. There is no other LOI signed by Marcos on the same date.

Details of the claimed certificate from Banco De Oro: Moreover, Rappler has already fact-checked the claimed certificate from BDO shown in the video.

The fact check determined that as BDO became a universal bank only in 1996, the logo with “Banco De Oro Unibank” shown in the dubious certificate couldn’t have credibly existed in 1983. 

Previous related fact-checks: Rappler has featured both the false Letter of Instruction and the false certificate from BDO in fact checks of other videos by “PweDelie TV”: 

• FACT CHECK: Marcos’ gold account won’t be used to advance science and tech in PH (March 14, 2023) 
• FACT CHECK: Marcos’ gold account won’t be used to strengthen PH agriculture (March 7, 2023). 

Rappler had also fact-checked on March 17, 2021 another false Letter of Instruction linked to the so-called “Marcos gold” (READ: FALSE: Ferdinand Marcos’ Letter of Instruction for Bagong Lipunan currency). – Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

Percival Bueser is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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