FACT CHECK: Spliced news report used to falsely claim Duterte is back in PH

Claim: Former president Rodrigo Duterte is back in the Philippines. 

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: The video has already received 571,000 views, 775 comments, and 468 shares as of writing. It was posted on November 22, days before the International Criminal Court (ICC) appeals chamber formally denied Duterte’s request for interim release. However, the video continues to circulate as of recently. 

The video shows a 15-second news report of GMA’s Balitanghali news anchors Raffy Tima and Connie Sison. Sison can be heard saying, “Mainit-init na balita. Nakauwi na sa bansa si dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte mat— (Breaking news. Former president Rodrigo Duterte has returned to the country after—).” 

The video continues with Tima saying, “Sinalubong siya sa airport ng ilang opisyal ng Philippine National Police kasama ang Interpol (He was greeted at the airport by several Philippine National Police officers along with the Interpol).” 

“Pasado alas nuwebe nang umaga nang lumapag ang eroplano lulan ang dat— (It was past nine in the morning when the plane landed carrying the former—),” Sison followed. 

The manipulated news report wanted to make some Facebook users believe that Duterte has already returned from The Hague, Netherlands. 

The facts: Duterte is not back in the Philippines. The news clip used in the video was reported in March, upon the former president’s arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after an event in Hong Kong. 

The original video of GMA’s news report shows that the part where Sison mentions “Hong Kong” was removed from the clip. The complete report should be, “Mainit-init na balita. Nakauwi na sa bansa si dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte matapos dumalo sa isang pagtitipon sa Hong Kong nitong weekend.” 

(Breaking news. Former president Rodrigo Duterte has returned to the country after attending a gathering in Hong Kong last weekend)

Interim release: The ICC appeals chamber had recently denied Duterte’s request for interim release. The five-person chamber led by Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, a Peruvian jurist, ruled that the conditions set by the Duterte camp were not sufficient to mitigate the risk factors of interim release. 

These include evading the case, recommitting the same crimes the detainee is accused of, and jeopardizing the investigation.

ICC detention: Duterte has been detained in The Hague, Netherlands since March 12. He is facing charges for crimes against humanity following his war on drugs. Human Rights groups reported that almost 30,000 individuals were victims of extrajudicial killings. 

Previous fact checks: Rappler has debunked similar claims about Duterte’s interim release: 

• FACT CHECK: ICC did not reverse decision rejecting Duterte’s interim release 
• FACT CHECK: 2023 ICC ruling misrepresented as dismissal of Duterte’s drug war case 
• FACT CHECK: Duterte still detained, not granted interim release 
• FACT CHECK: Duterte not released, post uses old video with actress Giselle Sanchez  

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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