CLAIM: King Philip II of Spain passed on his kingship to Ferdinand Marcos Sr. since the latter was the namesake of his “favorite voyager,” Ferdinand Magellan.
A Facebook user reshared his post in July claiming that his grandfather told him Marcos’ family was “rich” even before he became president.
He added that they are the “legitimate” supposed king of Maharlika.
“APO LAKAY THE REAL KING OF MAHARLIKA,” the Facebook user wrote in the reshare with a heart emoji.
The source was named realitykings.com, which is a pornography site and not in any way related to monarchs.
While the Facebook user reshared it months ago, it resurfaced on Reddit Philippines on Thursday where a Filipino satirically wrote: “Kaya pala strong leader. Source: Trust me bro.”
RATING: Claims of the Spanish king bequeathing kingship to the late dictator, as well as Marcos being the “king” of “Maharlika,” are fake.
Facts
On monarchy
King Philip II of Spain is the individual whom the Philippines was named after by Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, who had an expedition to the islands from 1542 to 1546.
There was never any mention that he bequeathed his kingship to Marcos.
King Philip, who ruled Spain from 1556 to 1598, was succeeded on the throne by his son, Philip the Pious or Philip III.
Like most in the world, the Spanish monarchy is hereditary, meaning the throne passes from one family member to another.
Marcos is not part of King Philip II’s family.
He is the son of former legislator Mariano Marcos and schoolteacher Josefa Edralin.
On ‘Maharlika’
“Maharlika,” meanwhile, is a term falsely used to refer to the Philippines’ supposed pre-colonial name as a kingdom.
Some of Marcos’ supporters also use the term to spread false claims that he is its contemporary ruler.
Historian William Henry Scott said no kingdom of such name existed in the pre-colonial Philippines.
Instead, the country at that time was composed of barangays headed by datus or a datu.
Xiao Chua, another historian, said that “maharlika” does not translate to a noble person or the nobility.
He said that the term was a cause of a “mistranslation” of historical texts.
“People were thinking, we want that name, it’s a romanticized named, kasi royal. Hindi, it’s just an ordinary person who is free,” Chua said in a 2019 interview, referring to the pre-colonial social strata before.
The “maharlika” is also known as the “timawa” in the Visayas, who were free persons.
Why it matters
Despite previous fact-checks, claims of Marcos being a “ruler” of a “Maharlika” kingdom have continuously surfaced on the internet.
Some of his supporters also amplify this since the late dictator had associated his fictitious wartime guerilla unit with the term.
But an investigation revealed that the unit was non-existent.
