A viral photo collage online claims that Vice President Sara Duterte, supposedly quoting “circulating reports,” has “exposed a secret relationship” between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Batangas Rep. Gerville “Jinky” Luistro. This is false.
The portion of the collage used to allege the illicit relationship came from an Oct. 13, 2017 CCTV footage from India showing a man kissing a woman inside a footwear shop. Another Facebook page uploaded the video on Oct. 27, 2017.
An FB page posted the photo on Feb. 12 with a caption:
“Isang matinding pasabog ang niyanig ang social media at ang mga koridor ng Senado ngayong araw! Ayon sa mga kumakalat na ulat, diumano’y ‘ibinulgar’ ni Vice President Sara Duterte ang isang lihim na relasyon sa pagitan ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos (PBBM) at ni Batangas Representative Gerville ‘Jinky’ Luistro. Alle Details im Kommentar
(A huge bombshell shook social media and the corridors of the Senate today! According to circulating reports, Vice President Sara Duterte allegedly ‘exposed’ a secret relationship between President Bongbong Marcos (PBBM) and Batangas Representative Gerville ‘Jinky’ Luistro. All details in the comments.)”
Below the caption is a headline and link to a clickbait article:
“NAGULAT ANG SENADO! VP SARA, BINULGAR ANG ‘LIHIM NA RELASYON’ NINA PBBM AT JINKY LUISTRO? KATOTOHANAN O POLITIKA
(THE SENATE WAS SHOCKED! VP SARA EXPOSED THE ‘SECRET RELATIONSHIP’ BETWEEN PBBM AND JINKY LUISTRO? TRUTH OR POLITICS)?”
The photo includes a text overlay, positioned over Duterte’s image, presented as a quote attributed to her:
“Wala na kayong dapat pang itago (You no longer have anything to hide)!”
Using reverse image search, the picture in the photo collage used to allege the supposed affair was traced back to a CCTV footage that FB page Punjabism posted on Oct. 27, 2017. In another version dated Oct. 13, 2017, an Indian man could be seen in the video kissing a woman in a footwear shop supposedly without her consent, according to Hindi news site Amar Ujala.
The clickbait article that came with the collage also made the same sensational claim. However, it quickly downplayed the romantic speculation, stating that Duterte did not make a direct statement or “solid evidence” about the supposed relationship.
Married to Mabini, Batangas Mayor Noel Luistro, Rep. Jinky Luistro has been labeled a “breakout star” in the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which led the scrutiny into the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under Duterte.
Luistro currently chairs the House Committee on Justice, which was tasked to determine the sufficiency in form and substance of the impeachment complaints filed against both Duterte and Marcos Jr. earlier this year.
As of writing, the false photo published by FB page PrimeTime Celebs has received over 14,000 reactions; 5,900 comments; and 1,400 shares.
