No Evidence Biden Threatened to Cancel Philippines Visas
The Claim
President Biden threatened to cancel all U.S. visas issued in the Philippines.
Emerging story
Multiple Facebook accounts and pages shows a CNN article reporting President Joe Biden threatened to cancel “all U.S. visas to be issued in the Philippines.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has discovered that according to Rapler.com, this claim has been circulating on social media since December 2020.
It appears to have been motivated by a statement by Phillipine President Rodrigo Duterte saying: “If they (the U.S.) are not able to deliver a minimum of 20 million vaccines, they better get out. No vaccine, no stay here,” Duterte said during a meeting in Malacañang, drawing applause from his officials according to the Inquirer.net.
The CNN has not published an article reporting Biden threatened to “cancel all US visas to be issued in the Philippines.”
However, there is no evidence supporting the claim.
In fact, according to The Diplomat, the Biden administration is hoping to shore up its alliance with the Philippines.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the new U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin in a phone call with his Phillipine counterpart on February 9, 2021, affirmed the U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Philippines alliance and the bilateral Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), highlighting the value the VFA brings to both countries.
Misbar didn’t find the alleged quote or threat about visas in presidential actions, press releases, or transcripts published on the White House website.
