A remark attributed to actor Dingdong Dantes supposedly praising Vice President Sara Duterte even before her early declaration of her interest in running for president in 2028 is circulating online. This is fake.
The actor, a staunch supporter of Duterte’s political opponents in past elections, issued a clarification through his official Facebook page on Feb. 20 dismissing the claim.
VERA Files traced the earliest copy of the claim to a Feb. 13 video reuploaded on FB by a user from another TikTok account. The clip featured a graphic with text that states:
“Dingdong Dantes Said!!
Nakakatakot pag nanalo Si Vp Sara, nakikita ko sa kanya ang tapang talino, at abilidad na may kakayahang mamuno gaya ng kanyang Ama. (It’s frightening if VP Sara wins [the 2028 presidential election]. I see in her the courage, intelligence and ability to lead like her father).”
The video suggests that a TikTok user originally published the alleged statement by Dantes. A quick check of the TikTok account, whose posts are mostly in favor of the vice president, reveals that the original clip had been deleted as of writing.
More FB users and a page have republished the manufactured quote from Feb. 16 to 19.
On Feb. 20, Dantes posted a screenshot of the quote misattributed to him, saying he never made such a comment.
The snapshot shows a post of the made-up remark from a self-described “solid Duterte die-hard supporter.” It had amassed nearly 80,000 reactions by the time Dantes flagged it.
The fake quote has since been taken down and the uploader had issued an apology to Dantes, which he accepted, based on his Feb. 21 FB post.
The fabricated statement surfaced amid the filing of impeachment complaints against Duterte, including the third petition filed by a group of clergymen, priests, nuns and lawyers on Feb. 9.
A fourth complaint was filed on Feb. 18, hours after the vice president officially announced that she would run for president in the 2028 elections.
During the Feb. 23 plenary session, the House referred to the Committee on Justice all four complaints against Duterte. With the referral, the impeachment proceedings have been formally initiated, triggering the constitutional one-year bar.
Published by an FB user, the video bearing the fictitious quote has so far received 1,400 reactions; 164 comments; and 175 shares. Other copies posted by four other users and page Two Ph (created on Oct. 24, 2025) have collectively garnered 14,851 reactions; 2,318 comments; and 383 shares as of writing.
