Manila, Philippines — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) strongly denied claims that all National ID holders will receive ₱7,000 free monthly electricity and ₱8,000 rice subsidy.
The agency warned that viral social media videos about these alleged subsidies are false and misleading.
According to the PSA, these contents may have been generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and were intentionally created to confuse the public and spread fake news, taking advantage of the country’s current crisis situation.
The PSA emphasized that the National ID is an official valid identification card that serves as proof of identity of the holder, not used to automatically qualify for government aid, programs, or services.
It stressed that having a National ID does not grant any privilege or automatic entitlement to government assistance or subsidies.
The PSA also reminded the public that subsidies and other forms of government assistance provided by various agencies during crises go through proper processes, policies, and verification of qualified beneficiaries.
DSWD DENIES PROVIDING AIR-CONDITIONING UNITS TO 4PS BENEFICIARIES
In a related fake news issue, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also denied the circulating image claiming that 4Ps beneficiaries received air-conditioning units from the agency.
According to Social Welfare Assistance Secretary Irene Dumlao, the post is clearly fabricated and appears to have been generated using AI.
The said post, including its tagline and even the logo, did not come from the DSWD.
The agency is now coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to investigate the post.
Both agencies also warned the public to be more careful about what they see online.
They advised people to avoid liking, sharing, reacting or commenting on unverified content, especially those not coming from official verified accounts of government agencies.
The Palace earlier warned that social media accounts and fake news peddlers spreading false information may face appropriate legal consequences if proven guilty.