A fake graphic posted on Facebook (FB) falsely claims the International Criminal Court (ICC) has dismissed the crimes against humanity case against former president Rodrigo Duterte. The post shows an old photo of Duterte onboard an airplane, supposedly on his way back to the Philippines.
Published on June 7, the fabricated news card bore the logos of ABS-CBN News and its flagship newscast, TV Patrol, along with an overlay text and a caption that read, respectively:
“Dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte nasa eroplano na matapos ma dismissed ang kaso sa ICC
(Former president is on a plane after his case at the ICC was dismissed)”
“JUST IN: Dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte nasa eroplano na pauwing Pilipinas matapos ma dismissed ang kaso sa ICC… (Former president Rodrigo Duterte is on a plane heading back to the Philippines after his case at the ICC was dismissed…) Read more…https://ln.run/TV-Patrol-News-Duterte-Balik-Pinas-na…“
This is fake. Neither ABS-CBN News nor TV Patrol has published such a graphic in any of their official social media channels.
As of June 11, there are also no official announcements on the ICC’s Facebook page and website regarding the dismissal of the charges against Duterte at the international tribunal in connection to the thousands of extrajudicial killings under his brutal war against illegal drugs during his presidency.
A reverse image search shows that the photo of Duterte in the bogus graphic dates back to 2017. Published by GMA News online on Jan. 26, 2017, the photo, credited to “King Rodriguez/PPD (Presidential Photographers Division),” carried this caption:
“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte takes time to relax, taking off his shoes and socks while onboard a government airplane to Davao City following a hectic schedule that included visits in Tacloban City and Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu on Wednesday, January 25, 2017.”
According to a notice dated June 4, three days before the fake graphic emerged, the ICC prosecution has submitted its seventh communication of evidence disclosure in the crimes against humanity case against the former chief executive.
The prosecution has until July 1 to submit all the evidence it needs in the upcoming Sept. 23 confirmation of charges hearing for Duterte, who remains detained in Scheveningen, the ICC detention facility in The Hague, Netherlands.
The spurious FB post with the bogus news card is merely a clickbait that carries a link to an e-commerce website.
Posted by FB pages Partido Local (created on June 1, 2025) and Beanne Dela Cruz (created on May 27, 2025), the manufactured graphic has so far collectively garnered 635 interactions as of writing.
