Columnist Rigoberto “Bobi” Tiglao of The Manila Times falsely claimed that the Palimbang massacre was “fake” and “invented” to get compensation from the Philippines’ Human Rights Violations Reparations Law.
STATEMENT
In a Facebook comment on a post of the Philippine Collegian, the University of the Philippines – Diliman’s official student publication, Tiglao said:
“The Palembang massacre was fake, no such massacre. Invented to get compensation from ‘Human Rights Victims compensation act’.”
Source: Bobi Tiglao Official Facebook Profile (comment), “The Palembang…” (archive), May 4, 2022
Tiglao then went on to link an opinion piece he wrote in 2019, alleging without basis that the massacre was a “hoax.”
FACT
At least three government agencies recognize the Palimbang massacre, which took the lives of over 1,000 Moros in Sultan Kudarat on Sept. 24, 1974. Testimonies from survivors of the massacre, and bereaved families, are well-documented by the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). In 2021, the military, whose forces were linked to the massacre, released a statement on how important it is to commemorate the killings.
Read the full story on VERA Files Fact Check.
