A satirical quote card widely spreading on social media is being made to appear as true by Duterte supporters. It claims that human rights advocate Fr. Flavie Villanueva said he heard deceased victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs demanding justice from heaven.
A Facebook page first posted the graphic on April 3, which bore three pictures of the priest–two of which show him performing the ritual of washing of feet on Maundy Thursday. It carried this quote:
“Habang hinalikan ko paa nila, narinig ko mga EJK victim sumisigaw ng hustisya kahit nasa langit na sila (While I was kissing their feet, I heard [extrajudicial killing] victims calling for justice even though they’re already in heaven)!”
The publisher, FB page Flash Reporrt, is an account that exclusively publishes satire. Its post on Villanueva even carried a disclaimer. It was captioned:
“’SUMISIGAW NG HUSTISYA’
Father Flavieeee may narinig habang hinalikan ang paa ng pamilya ng mga EJK victim. Narinig nya umano ang mga biktima na sumisigaw ng hustisya kahit nasa langit na.
(‘Screaming for justice’ Father Flavie reportedly heard something while kissing the feet of the family of EJK victims. He allegedly heard the victims crying out for justice even though they are already in heaven.)
satire
📢 Disclaimer: This post is satire. It’s made for humor and commentary — not to mislead or spread false information.”
The same graphic has since been reposted in FB groups and pages supporting the Duterte family but with the satire disclaimer removed, misleading netizens into believing it was true, as reflected in their comments. It has also circulated on Threads and TikTok.
The Catholic priest debunked the circulating graphic in an FB post on April 4 and said it is “fake news.”
Villanueva, who has helped relatives of EJK victims, has been a target of several online campaigns that spread disinformation about him. These include fabricated claims that he received money from the fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co and a misleading quote where he supposedly promoted drug peddling as a solution to poverty which were both debunked by VERA Files Fact Check in March.
Published by FB user, and pages Flash Reporrt (created Nov. 2, 2018), NewsDuterte (created Feb. 8, 2025), boss emon (created March 6, 2024), and several other FB accounts, these posts have amassed over 199,823 reactions; 50,563 comments; and 11,929 shares.
Editor’s note: This fact check was produced with the help of a journalism student from Bicol University as part of their internship at VERA Files.
