Is that so?

Creative image makers are very much in demand this election campaign.

In the candidates efforts to boost their credentials to the public or to hide unpleasant information about them, they tell stories – some true, some false. There is no dearth of image-specialists that candidates can tap to re-package themselves to what appeals to the voters.

Packaging is the thing. Never mind the truth.

Voting for a candidate is no different from buying a merchandise. You want to get the real deal. Just like when you buy honey, you want honey syrup made by bees. Not a thick syrup that is half sugar.

To help voters see beyond the nice packaging of the candidates, VERA Files is doing a fact check.

We have titled this project, “Is that so?” and this is how it works: We check the candidates’ statements against facts from official data and other sources.

We know that sometimes the problem is with reporting. There have been a number of reports where the story’s headline is not supported by the candidate’s quote. Just what happened to a newspaper’s story that presidential candidate Grace Poe was “open to allowing the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani, if she becomes President.”

A closer reading of the report, however, showed that Poe never mentioned Libingan ng Bayani. All she said was, “President Marcos should be given a proper burial already, wherever that may be. My opinion is based on a law, which still has to be clearly understood, which recognizes the victims of human rights abuses during that (Marcos’) time.”

In VERA Files, “Is that so,” we will make sure that the candidate’s statements we are fact-checking are from official sources (press release, press statement, speech, official Facebook or Twitter account.)

If from a secondary source, we will check it against the transcript, audio or video containing the statement.

In fact-checking, aside from official data, we will also check the candidate’s statements from his or her previous statements. We’ll see if he or she is consistent with his or her stand on issues.

Here is VERA Files first fact-check item:

Poe says PH 5th largest coconut producer
Statement: During the first Comelec-sponsored Pilipinas Debates 2016 on Feb. 21, independent presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe said, “Kailangan na po ng replanting ng mga niyog. Sapagka’t tayo po ang fifth largest producer ng niyog sa buong mundo, pero hindi natin sila binibigyan ng sapat na suporta (We need to replant coconut trees. We are the fifth largest coconut producer in the world, but we’re not giving them enough support.)”

Poe was responding to a question about her plans for the food security of 2.6 million families who say they are poor.

FACT: Latest data from the Food and Agriculture Organization show that the Philippines was the second largest producer of coconut in the world in 2014 (14,696,280 tonnes or metric tons) after Indonesia (19,102,130). The fifth largest producer was Sri Lanka, not the Philippines.

The Philippines was the top coconut producer in the world for the most part of the 1960s and 1970s, according to FAO statistics from 1961 to 2014, but would rank second in most years since 1984.

This was done by UP students Shernielyn Dela Cruz, Mark Kevin Reginio and Potre Leila Menchani Tilendo. They are journalism majors and they fact-checking candidates for their Journalism Ethics [J110)] course taught by VERA Files trustee Yvonne T. Chua.

The second item in VERA Files “Is that so?” is the exchange between Liberal Party Presidential candidate Mar Roxas and Partidong Galing at Puso Vice Presidential bet Francis Escudero on whose home province is worse off.

If there are statements by candidates that you think are false, send them to us and together we will check them against official records. This way we help lessen the lies that pollute our environment.