A quote card is claiming that the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court has “reassessed” and reversed its earlier rejection of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s appeal for interim release. This is fake.
There are no records on the ICC website to validate the existence of such a statement attributed to the tribunal’s Appeals Chamber Presiding Judge Luz Del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, who read in open court on Nov. 28 the chamber’s judgment denying the appeal of Duterte.
First published by a Facebook user on Dec. 1, the quote card bore a photo supposedly by an ICC presiding judge named “Judge Ana Luz Del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza De Gutierréz,” along with a statement that read:
“We acknowledge an error in the earlier denial of interim release for former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Having heard the calls and signature drive of his supporters, the decision has been reassessed, and interim release is hereby granted, allowing him to spend Christmas in the Philippines with his family under standard conditions. This adjustment does not affect the ongoing proceedings.”
The bogus quote card has several red flags. A quick review of the ICC’s official FB page shows that its recent quote cards use different layouts and formats, none of which resemble the fabricated graphic shared online.
Instead, the graphic is similar to the fake quote cards that circulated in March, alleging that ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane had ordered the release of Duterte and dismissed the charges against him. (READ: FACT CHECK: NO release order from ICC president Tomoko Akane for Duterte’s birthday)
The photo of Carranza used in the fraudulent quote card does not match the one displayed on her profile on the ICC website.
Results from artificial intelligence detection tools Hive Moderation and SightEngine reveal that the graphic card carrying a mismatched image of the Peruvian ICC judge is likely a deepfake.
VERA Files also ran the image through PimEyes, an advanced face recognition search engine, and the results yielded photos mostly of showbiz personality Annabelle Rama, suggesting that a deepfake technology was likely used in the picture featured in the fabricated quote card. The names “Ana” and “de Gutierrez” added to Carranza’s name in the graphic also appear to have been taken from the actress’ name.
The counterfeit statement emerged three days after the five-member ICC Appeals Chamber issued its unanimous decision rejecting all three grounds of appeal raised by the defense team against the earlier decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I that denied Duterte’s request for conditional release to an undisclosed country.
In a Nov. 28 GMA News Online report, ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti was quoted as saying the decision was final but the defense may file another request for interim release, citing different grounds.
According to local media reports, lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman said the Duterte camp “awaits the results of the medical evaluation of the former president due [later this] month and will reintroduce its request to release a man who is 80 years old and, as a result of debilitating physical and cognitive conditions, is incapable of flight or, as alleged, threats to witnesses.”
Posted by FB user Kathy Poqueco, the fake quote card has so far garnered 3,000 reactions, 200 comments and 232 shares. Other copies republished by page Duterte Supporter Daily News (created on March 24, 2025) have received 1,014 engagements as of writing.
