FACT CHECK | Viral “business permit rant” video is AI-generated
By Fact Check
| March 1, 2026 - 2:43 pm
DAVAO CITY (February 27, 2026) – A viral video circulating on Facebook shows a man angrily confronting what appears to be a government treasury office, claiming that a P10,000 business permit fee is crushing small store owners.
First posted on February 5 at 8:26 AM by the page “News Express,” a pro-Duterte page that frequently shares viral and sensational content, the video carried the caption “Tingnan | Isang lalake nagwawala dahil sa sobrang mahal ng business permit sa kanyang maliit na tindahan na umabot ng P10,000” and has since gained massive engagement online.
The video is fake because it uses AI-generated footage to depict an incident that did not actually happen in any known Philippine government office.
MindaNews is fact-checking this because it has generated significant public reaction at a time when many small business owners are renewing their permits and may be misled into believing that the incident was real.
In the clip, the man is heard shouting: “Sampung libo ang permit ng maliit na tindahan, paano namin mababayaran?! Mga mall ng politiko, tax free, kami pinapatay sa bayarin! Kayo nakaupo sa aircon, kami buong araw naglalakad. Negosyo ng mahirap, pinapatay! Negosyo ng mayaman, pinagtatanggol!”
The emotional outburst led many viewers to sympathize with the supposed small business owner and criticize government fees and bureaucracy. Several influential pages and digital creators, such as Sikat Ka Pinoy, later reshared the video, further amplifying its reach.
Among the comments, one netizen wrote, “puro kurap ang pilipinas kaya walang asenso ..true po yan tay. grabe ang pahirap ng gobyerno, kumikita lang ng maliit para mabuhay,” while another user who re-shared the clip said it reflects how systems allegedly make life harder for the poor.
As of 12:45 PM, February 27, the post has reached around 4.1 m views, 20.3k reactions, 1.7k comments, and 14.3 k shares.
However, the video is not authentic. It was generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
A closer look at the footage reveals multiple visual inconsistencies typical of AI-generated videos.
At one point, sheets of paper appear to fall from the man’s hands, but their movement does not follow natural physics; instead of fluttering downward, the papers drop stiffly and even seem to bounce unnaturally upon hitting the floor. The fallen sheet also looks nearly identical to the document the man is holding, suggesting asset duplication, which is a common error in AI-generated visuals.
The overall quality of the video is also inconsistent. While much of the footage appears blurry, certain elements remain oddly sharp and overly smooth at the same time, a hallmark of AI rendering.
Text and signage in the background further point to fabrication.
While the video does not mention any specific city, municipality, or province where the supposed incident took place, a poster in front of the man prominently displays the words “BUSINESS PERMIT” and includes the name “Mayor J. Santer.”
Beneath the mayor’s name appears another line of text reading “ZHAR SENGKAN,” which does not correspond to any recognizable Filipino name, local government office, or official term and appears to be AI-generated gibberish.
There are also no credible reports from legitimate news organizations or government offices describing an incident matching the one portrayed in the video.
While concerns about business permit fees and the challenges faced by small entrepreneurs are real and deserve discussion, using AI-generated content as if it were genuine can distort public understanding and fuel misplaced anger.
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes fact check leads or suggestions from the public. (Allizah Keziah Manulat / MindaNews)
About MindaNews Fact Check
MindaNews Fact Check seeks to fight misinformation and disinformation circulating on the internet, news platforms and communities that we serve.
About
MindaNews Fact Check
MindaNews Fact Check seeks to fight misinformation and disinformation circulating on the internet, news platforms and communities that we serve.
What is MindaNews Fact Check?
MindaNews Fact Check tracks and debunks fake news, false claims and misleading statements of government officials, civil society leaders and netizens being spread on the internet, especially on social media sites. MindaNews values truth and accuracy in performing our journalistic work.
Why we fact-check?
Politicians, government officials and other public and private figures at times tend to bend facts to suit or advance their vested interests, or their principals, in effect misleading the public. The distorted facts spread easily with the popularity of the internet and the wide influence of social media.
As independent journalists, our primordial duty is to tell the truth and present facts to help the public discern issues and concerns impacting their lives.
As independent journalists, our primordial duty is to tell the truth and present facts to help the public discern issues and concerns impacting their lives.
How do we rate claims?
FAKE – if the claim is completely invented.
FALSE – if the claim contradicts, undermines or disputes truthful facts, actual events and official records (i.e. laws and scientific studies)
MISLEADING – if the claim is based on truth but maliciously twisted that gives a different impression to serve a group or individual’s vested interests.
ALTERED – pertains to images or videos that were manipulated to mislead the public.
MISSING CONTEXT – if the claim needs more clarification or contextualization to make it clearer.
Where do you post your results?
We post our fact-checked stories in mindanews.com, on Facebook and Twitter with links to the original piece. We have a dedicated fact check page, where all fact-checked stories can be found.
How did MindaNews Fact Check start?
Since its establishment in 2001, MindaNews has been living up to its vision of being the “leading provider of accurate, timely and comprehensive news and information on Mindanao and its peoples, serving economically, politically and culturally empowered communities” and its mission to “professionally and responsibly cover Mindanao events, peoples and issues to inform, educate, inspire and influence communities.”
MindaNews was founded by reporters precisely to ensure that reports about Mindanao, an island grouping that has suffered misinformation and disinformation long before these words became fashionable, are accurate.
Our policy has always been to ensure that reports are thoroughly vetted before they are dispatched and uploaded on our website.
Our fact-checking initiative with a uniform format started in October 2021 as part of Internews’ pioneering Philippine Fact-Checker Incubator (PFCI) project. Internews is an international non-profit that supports independent media from 100 countries.
Prior to the PFCI project, MindaNews co-founded Tsek.ph, a collaboration among Philippine media institutions to fight disinformation and misinformation during the 2019. Tsek.ph did the same thing for the 2022 elections.
Where do you get funds?
MindaNews has sustained its operation through proceeds from subscriptions of its news service (news, special reports, opinion pieces, photos) and sales of books. It also receives grants from non-state actors. Editorial prerogative, however, is left entirely to MindaNews.
MindaNews does not accept funds from politicians or domestic or foreign states for its fact-checking initiative. For the other operations of MindaNews as a media organization, we have received grants from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The grants from NED and UNESCO have been used for coverage, staff compensation, administrative expenses, and to train fellow journalists.
For MindaNews’ fact-checking initiatives, it received support from Internews (September 2021 to October 2022) and the BUILD grant administered by the International Fact-Checking Network (August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024).
As a matter of policy, MindaNews does not allow these funders to interfere in our editorial processes.
Do you accept leads from the public for your fact-checking initiative?
MindaNews encourages the public to provide us with leads not only for potential fact-check pieces but other news stories as well of interest to the general public.
Our fact checks include this paragraph encouraging readers to be part of the process: “As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact check pieces.”
As a news media organization, we strictly adhere to accuracy, fairness, balance, independence, accountability and transparency not just in our fact-checking initiative but in all other aspects of our work at MindaNews. We fact-check a claim that is specifically claimed to be a fact and involved the public interest or the welfare of the people. We debunk false claims using official government records, journals or interviews with experts. We don’t fact check opinions.
MindaNews Fact Check - Methodology
What standards do you follow when fact-checking?
As a news organization, we strictly adhere to accuracy, fairness, balance, independence, accountability and transparency not just in our fact-checking initiative but in all other aspects of our work at MindaNews.
We abide by the Philippine Press Institute’s Journalist’s Code of Ethics. Since we became part of Internews’ Philippine Fact-Checker Incubator project, we have been striving to adhere with the IFCN Code of Principles, in step with our organization’s commitment to non-partisanship, transparency and fairness.
We fact-check a claim that is specifically claimed to be a fact and involved the public interest or the welfare of the people. We debunk false claims using official government records, journals or interviews with experts.
We don’t fact-check opinions.
How do we fact-check?
Step 1: Team members monitor press conferences, speeches, statements, news, interviews, social media sites, etc. for statements worth fact-checking.
Step 2: When a claim is worth fact-checking, a team member looks for multiple sources to dispute the claim, including tracing the original source document.
Step 3: Fact-checked claims are then submitted to the editor for copy editing and vetting. The link/s to debunk the claim are always included in the story.
Step 4: A rating card is prepared to accompany the fact-checked piece, or infographics if needed, to immediately flag readers what the article is all about.
Step 5: The senior editor takes another look before the article is posted on the website and social media accounts.
Consistent with our trust for factual reporting, we will rectify any error that we have committed. If you spot a factual error, you may notify the MindaNews Editors.
Correction Policy
Consistent with our vision and mission as a media institution, we rectify any error committed. If you spot a factual error, you may notify us thru editor@mindanews.com or our Facebook Messenger @Mindanews.
Correction Workflow
Errors pointed out are immediately brought to the attention of the editors and the fact-checking team.
The fact-checker is immediately notified for verification.
Once verified, the error is to be corrected within 24 hours and vetted before publication on the website.
Readers will immediately know errors have been corrected through the Editor’s note posted above the article.
The person who notified MindaNews about the error will be informed that the correction has been made.
MindaNews is the news service arm of the Mindanao Institute of Journalism (MinJourn). MindaNews was founded in 2001 by independent, professional Mindanawon journalists who left the country’s most widely-circulated Manila-based broadsheet to tell the stories of Mindanao from the lenses of Mindanawons.
About MindaNews
MindaNews is the news service arm of the Mindanao Institute of Journalism (MinJourn). It is composed of independent, professional journalists who believe and practice people empowerment through media. MinJourn, which is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission with registration number CN201700385, is managed by its Board of Directors.
MindaNews values its journalistic independence. It started in May 2001 as a media cooperative and in January 2017 registered as a nonstock, nonprofit media organization. We do not accept funding from politicians, political parties or partisan groups.
FACT CHECK | Viral “business permit rant” video is AI-generated
By Fact Check
| March 1, 2026 - 2:43 pm
DAVAO CITY (February 27, 2026) – A viral video circulating on Facebook shows a man angrily confronting what appears to be a government treasury office, claiming that a P10,000 business permit fee is crushing small store owners.
First posted on February 5 at 8:26 AM by the page “News Express,” a pro-Duterte page that frequently shares viral and sensational content, the video carried the caption “Tingnan | Isang lalake nagwawala dahil sa sobrang mahal ng business permit sa kanyang maliit na tindahan na umabot ng P10,000” and has since gained massive engagement online.
The video is fake because it uses AI-generated footage to depict an incident that did not actually happen in any known Philippine government office.
MindaNews is fact-checking this because it has generated significant public reaction at a time when many small business owners are renewing their permits and may be misled into believing that the incident was real.
In the clip, the man is heard shouting: “Sampung libo ang permit ng maliit na tindahan, paano namin mababayaran?! Mga mall ng politiko, tax free, kami pinapatay sa bayarin! Kayo nakaupo sa aircon, kami buong araw naglalakad. Negosyo ng mahirap, pinapatay! Negosyo ng mayaman, pinagtatanggol!”
The emotional outburst led many viewers to sympathize with the supposed small business owner and criticize government fees and bureaucracy. Several influential pages and digital creators, such as Sikat Ka Pinoy, later reshared the video, further amplifying its reach.
Among the comments, one netizen wrote, “puro kurap ang pilipinas kaya walang asenso ..true po yan tay. grabe ang pahirap ng gobyerno, kumikita lang ng maliit para mabuhay,” while another user who re-shared the clip said it reflects how systems allegedly make life harder for the poor.
As of 12:45 PM, February 27, the post has reached around 4.1 m views, 20.3k reactions, 1.7k comments, and 14.3 k shares.
However, the video is not authentic. It was generated using artificial intelligence (AI).
A closer look at the footage reveals multiple visual inconsistencies typical of AI-generated videos.
At one point, sheets of paper appear to fall from the man’s hands, but their movement does not follow natural physics; instead of fluttering downward, the papers drop stiffly and even seem to bounce unnaturally upon hitting the floor.
The fallen sheet also looks nearly identical to the document the man is holding, suggesting asset duplication, which is a common error in AI-generated visuals.
The overall quality of the video is also inconsistent. While much of the footage appears blurry, certain elements remain oddly sharp and overly smooth at the same time, a hallmark of AI rendering.
Text and signage in the background further point to fabrication.
While the video does not mention any specific city, municipality, or province where the supposed incident took place, a poster in front of the man prominently displays the words “BUSINESS PERMIT” and includes the name “Mayor J. Santer.”
A search of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) official directory of local officials, including its spreadsheet “DIRECTORY OF LGU ELECTIVE OFFICIALS FOR TERM 2025-2028 AS OF OCTOBER 2025,” shows no incumbent mayor with the name “J. Santer.”
Beneath the mayor’s name appears another line of text reading “ZHAR SENGKAN,” which does not correspond to any recognizable Filipino name, local government office, or official term and appears to be AI-generated gibberish.
There are also no credible reports from legitimate news organizations or government offices describing an incident matching the one portrayed in the video.
While concerns about business permit fees and the challenges faced by small entrepreneurs are real and deserve discussion, using AI-generated content as if it were genuine can distort public understanding and fuel misplaced anger.
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes fact check leads or suggestions from the public. (Allizah Keziah Manulat / MindaNews)
About MindaNews Fact Check
MindaNews Fact Check seeks to fight misinformation and disinformation circulating on the internet, news platforms and communities that we serve.
About
MindaNews Fact Check
MindaNews Fact Check seeks to fight misinformation and disinformation circulating on the internet, news platforms and communities that we serve.
What is MindaNews Fact Check?
MindaNews Fact Check tracks and debunks fake news, false claims and misleading statements of government officials, civil society leaders and netizens being spread on the internet, especially on social media sites. MindaNews values truth and accuracy in performing our journalistic work.
Why we fact-check?
Politicians, government officials and other public and private figures at times tend to bend facts to suit or advance their vested interests, or their principals, in effect misleading the public. The distorted facts spread easily with the popularity of the internet and the wide influence of social media.
As independent journalists, our primordial duty is to tell the truth and present facts to help the public discern issues and concerns impacting their lives.
As independent journalists, our primordial duty is to tell the truth and present facts to help the public discern issues and concerns impacting their lives.
FAKE – if the claim is completely invented.
FALSE – if the claim contradicts, undermines or disputes truthful facts, actual events and official records (i.e. laws and scientific studies)
MISLEADING – if the claim is based on truth but maliciously twisted that gives a different impression to serve a group or individual’s vested interests.
MISSING CONTEXT – if the claim needs more clarification or contextualization to make it clearer.
Since its establishment in 2001, MindaNews has been living up to its vision of being the “leading provider of accurate, timely and comprehensive news and information on Mindanao and its peoples, serving economically, politically and culturally empowered communities” and its mission to “professionally and responsibly cover Mindanao events, peoples and issues to inform, educate, inspire and influence communities.”
Our fact checks include this paragraph encouraging readers to be part of the process: “As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact check pieces.”
Submit a
Fact Check Lead
Submit a Fact Check Lead
Methodology
As a news media organization, we strictly adhere to accuracy, fairness, balance, independence, accountability and transparency not just in our fact-checking initiative but in all other aspects of our work at MindaNews. We fact-check a claim that is specifically claimed to be a fact and involved the public interest or the welfare of the people. We debunk false claims using official government records, journals or interviews with experts. We don’t fact check opinions.
MindaNews Fact Check
- Methodology
What standards do you follow when fact-checking?
As a news organization, we strictly adhere to accuracy, fairness, balance, independence, accountability and transparency not just in our fact-checking initiative but in all other aspects of our work at MindaNews.
We abide by the Philippine Press Institute’s Journalist’s Code of Ethics. Since we became part of Internews’ Philippine Fact-Checker Incubator project, we have been striving to adhere with the IFCN Code of Principles, in step with our organization’s commitment to non-partisanship, transparency and fairness.
We fact-check a claim that is specifically claimed to be a fact and involved the public interest or the welfare of the people. We debunk false claims using official government records, journals or interviews with experts.
We don’t fact-check opinions.
How do we fact-check?
Step 1: Team members monitor press conferences, speeches, statements, news, interviews, social media sites, etc. for statements worth fact-checking.
Step 2: When a claim is worth fact-checking, a team member looks for multiple sources to dispute the claim, including tracing the original source document.
Step 3: Fact-checked claims are then submitted to the editor for copy editing and vetting. The link/s to debunk the claim are always included in the story.
Step 4: A rating card is prepared to accompany the fact-checked piece, or infographics if needed, to immediately flag readers what the article is all about.
Step 5: The senior editor takes another look before the article is posted on the website and social media accounts.
Correction Policy
Correction Policy
Consistent with our vision and mission as a media institution, we rectify any error committed. If you spot a factual error, you may notify us thru editor@mindanews.com or our Facebook Messenger @Mindanews.
Correction Workflow
Correction Submission Form
Correction Submission Form
About MindaNews
Mindanao Institute of Journalism
About MindaNews
MindaNews is the news service arm of the Mindanao Institute of Journalism (MinJourn). It is composed of independent, professional journalists who believe and practice people empowerment through media. MinJourn, which is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission with registration number CN201700385, is managed by its Board of Directors.
MindaNews values its journalistic independence. It started in May 2001 as a media cooperative and in January 2017 registered as a nonstock, nonprofit media organization. We do not accept funding from politicians, political parties or partisan groups.
Editorial staff
Fact-checking Unit: Romer (Bong) Sarmiento, Yas D. Ocampo
Mindanao Institute of Journalism
Board of Directors
President & CEO: Jowel Canuday, D.Phil. (oxon.)
Vice President: Romer S. Sarmiento
Members
Carolyn O. Arguillas, M.A.
Rhodora Gail T. Ilagan, Ph.D.
Amalia B. Cabusao (Doc Can.)
Robert D. Timonera
Ellen P. Alinea