Presidential Assistant for Strategic Comms Cesar Chavez shared fake document declaring Dec. 22 a half-working day
A document declaring December 22, 2023 as a "special half-working day" circulated online on Dec. 21—but turns out, it was fake. Before the memo was debunked, it fooled some people, including Presidential Assistant for Strategic Communications Cesar Chavez.
On Thursday morning, Chavez shared the false announcement on his Facebook page. "Ayan na!" he captioned.
The falsified announcement bore the title "Proclamation No. 427" and a doctored signature of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. It claimed that December 22, Friday would be a holiday to give people "the full opportunity to travel earlier to their respective residences and provinces" for the holiday.
The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines caught wind of the post and said that it was fake.
"It has been edited to appear as an official government declaration, but it lacks any official status or authentication," the statement posted on Dec. 21 read.
"Citizens are strongly advised to seek information from legitimate government sources and avoid sharing unverified or manipulated content."
December 22, Friday remains a regular working day, while December 25, Christmas Day, is a regular holiday. December 26, Tuesday was also declared a special non-working holiday under Proclamation No. 425.
'Apologies'
After sharing the fake memo, Chavez took to Facebook again to apologize for the blunder.
"Apologies. I also posted content that was not verified by me. For the confusion it has created, the blame falls on me," the strategic communications official said.
“I take full responsibility for this oversight. As a former newsman who has been a stickler for fact-checking, this one evaded me."
Cesar Chavez was appointed Presidential Assistant for Strategic Communications on December 6. He was previously the Department of Transportation undersecretary for railways and deputy administrator of the Light Rail Transit Authority and was also a news anchor and station manager for DZRH.
In addition, Chavez served as the chief of staff of former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.