Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (left), President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Facebook)

House Deputy Majority Leader Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin has assured the public that the mid-term elections on May 12 will push through amid the fake news that the Marcos administration is out to impose martial law.

This, as the nation collectively moves forward following former president Rodrigo Duterte's arrest and subsequent turnover to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his charge of crimes against humanity.  

“Napakalayo sa katotohanan nung fake news na magkaka-martial law (The fake news that martial law would be imposed is so far from the truth),” Garin told a virtual press conference on Friday, March 14.

“Kapag martial law ka, parang lahat ng pinaghirapan ng Pangulong Bongbong Marcos, kaakibat na ‘yung mga nakaraang administrasyon, ay itatapon lamang. So napakalaking fake news nito,” she said. 

(If you will impose martial law, then all of the efforts of President Bongbong Marcos, even those from the past administrations, will have gone to waste. So this is one big fake news.)

Several posts on social media have claimed that--in order to quell the supposed protests being held as a result of Duterte’s arrest--President Marcos will declare military rule over the country. This would allegedly lead to a no election scenario.

To refute this, Garin pointed out that Marcos had been the main endorser of Alansya para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial ticket in the ongoing campaign period.

"Eh bakit nakikita naman todo ‘yung ikot ng Pangulo para mangampanya sa eleksyon? Kasi kung magde-declare yan ng martial law wala na mag-eleksyon. So it’s really untenable, parang malayong-malayo,” Garin said.

(Why are we seeing the President going all-out in this campaign period? If martial law gets declared then there will be no elections. So it’s really untenable, it's somewhat farfetched.)

What the Marcos administration is actually doing is helping the people cope with the high prices of goods, Garin said.

She said the government's moves are "geared towards pushing for a better and more robust economy".