On May 26, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos said that there is a plan for submarine acquisition and that different countries are offering to provide such vessels and build them in the country. Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Miguel Delgado previously said that they officially invited Philippine Navy representatives to visit Navantia’s facility and look into their submarines. The S-81 submarine, launched in Cartagena in 2021, had its first static dive test on May 31 as scheduled by Navantia, the Spanish Navy, and the Spanish Ministry of Defence. Note: Click on the photo to view its original source The clips were cropped and used in the false post. On July 7, Navantia, the state-owned Spanish company that manufactures S-80 Plus-class submarines, uploaded the video on YouTube. The submarine in the video is the Spanish Navy’s S-81 Isaac Peral sailing in the waters near Cartagena, Spain. The Philippines has no submarine, though it has plans to acquire one.

The video showing the submarine emerging from the waters carried text saying the vessel is “hidden from the public to prevent rumors”. Its thumbnail featured a half-submerged submarine with a Philippine flag, a breaking news label and a text with the same claim. “ PILIPINAS NUCLEAR SUBMARINE SINUBUKAN SA PALAWAN (PHILIPPINES NUCLEAR SUBMARINE TESTED IN PALAWAN)! WEST PHILIPPINE SEA 1BREAKING NEWS VINES VIRAL.” Posted on July 9, the video’s headline read:

The Spanish Navy owns the submarine in the clip. A YouTube channel with a history of spreading military-related disinformation uploaded a video claiming to show the Philippines’ first-ever nuclear submarine.

Youtube view bot 2020