Multiple posts are circulating online claiming that Gustavo Fring, supposedly the president of a South American country ‘Columbia’, has agreed to a joint oil exploration project with Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte. This is satire.
Gustavo “Gus” Fring is a fictional character from the Netflix neo-noir crime drama series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, portrayed by actor Giancarlo Esposito.
The proper spelling of the country being referred to is Colombia, with two ‘Os.’ Columbia is a city in South Carolina in the United States.
First posted on April 18 by a Facebook user, the image mimics the branding of INQUIRER.net but misspells it as “INQIURER.NET.” It also includes a small “SATIRE POST” label on the bottom-left corner and carries the headline:
“MAYOR BASTE DUTERTE AT COLUMBIA PRES. GUSTAVO FRING | MAGSASAGAWA NG JOINT EXPLORATION NG PETROLYO PARA SA DAVAO CITY
(Mayor Baste Duterte and Columbia President Gustavo Fring will conduct joint petroleum exploration for Davao City.”
The post was reposted by FB users and circulated across several groups of Duterte Family supporters. This misled some netizens resulting in a wave of serious comments including:
“Mayor namin yan 🥰 yung mga nag haha react… maghihirap kau ngayon 2028.. pag du30 naupo mauubos kayong mga adik 💚💚🫵🏼
(That’s our Mayor. Those who reacted ‘haha’ [on this post] will suffer this 2028. When Duterte sits, all addicts will be wiped out.)”
“Bsta du30 tlaga magaling sa foreign affairs… C Leni tahimik walang ambag 😛 iiyak pinklawan tska banggag ngayon 2028 💚👊
(Duterte is really good in foreign affairs… Leni is quiet and contributes nothing. The ‘pink’ supporters and ‘drugged’ ones will be crying in 2028.)”
Several netizens noted a recurring pattern in posts like the saying “basta dds, sa fake news na lang kumakapit (Duterte Diehard Supporters [DDS] always clinging to fake news),” particularly in discussions on oil price hikes in the Philippines.
VERA Files has previously fact-checked similar content, including posts on fictional “Chinese tycoon,” and “Wadiyan leaders,” as well as false claims like Brunei allegedly providing fuel donations. The organization has also debunked an AI-generated post about a supposed food drive in Davao City that circulated online this month.
Published by several FB users, these posts have collectively garnered over 23,334 reactions; 1,700 comments; and 1,864 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.
