Netizens across social media are claiming that Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla has requested a more decent detention facility for her husband, former senator Bong Revilla, who has been jailed over a non-bailable malversation case involving a P92.8 million “ghost” flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan. This is fake.
A review of the lawmaker’s official Facebook page shows no record of such a plea. In a Jan. 21 post, Mercado said she does “not intend to make any public comments moving forward” on Revilla’s case.
First published by an FB page on Jan. 28, the post carried Mercado’s photo originally posted on Nov. 12, 2025, along with a lengthy statement that partly reads:
“Makatarungan ba sa isang dating senador Na may asawang congressman, na may anak na congressman at mayor na ikulong sa isang normal na kulungan? Wala bang konsideration man lang Sa haba ng pag lilingkod nya sa taong bayan, isa pa guilty naba sya? Na sentensyahan naba?
Un man lang kahilingan namin na mailipay sya sa mas maayos na pasilidad ay ayaw pag bigyan samantalang hindi dumaan sa due process ang kanyang kaso
(Is it fair for a former senator, whose spouse is a congresswoman, whose children are a congressman and a mayor, to be jailed in an ordinary prison? Isn’t there at least some consideration for the length of his service to the people? Besides, is he already guilty? Has he been sentenced?
Our only request—that he be transferred to a more decent facility—was not granted, even though his case did not go through due process).”
Other social media pages and users reshared portions of this caption alongside graphics showing side-by-side photos of the couple, with one copy even labeling it as “breaking news.”
The fabricated quote attributed to the Cavite lawmaker surfaced a day after her husband was transferred to the general population of the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory on Jan. 27.
When asked by a reporter about the family’s concern following Revilla’s placement in a regular detention cell, Mercado said “we’re praying that he will be safe.” She also affirmed that her husband has been eating and sleeping well.
Mercado neither questioned the detention of Revilla in an “ordinary prison” nor asked for consideration, contrary to what the quote spreading online claimed.
Some red flags
Despite being tagged as breaking news, a cursory search of lines from the bogus statement yielded no reports from reputable media outlets.
While two versions of the circulating graphics used old, unrelated but authentic photos of Mercado, the alleged pictures of Revilla used in copies uploaded on Jan. 28 and 29 show red flags and were probably created using artificial intelligence.
The Jan. 28 graphic depicts the former senator wearing a yellow shirt labeled PDL (persons deprived of liberty). This appearance does not match how Revilla looks in a recent photo published by the Manila Bulletin on Jan. 23. Detection tool Decopy AI flagged the picture as likely AI-generated.
Another graphic posted on Jan. 29 shows Revilla behind bars while eating rice and ginisang pechay. Although it is true that this was his meal on his first night at the New Quezon City Jail, results from Hive Moderation indicate that the image is 72.5% likely to contain AI-generated content. VERA Files traced the earliest copy of this photo to an FB post dated Jan. 22.
VERA Files previously debunked a counterfeit statement attributed to Mercado claiming she had said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should be jailed instead of her husband.
Published by FB pages MD TV Channel (created on Feb. 9, 2020 as Dm Band PANS/ Joshua M.), Political Media (Apr. 2, 2025), and Checklist Studio (Dec. 22, 2019 as Philippine Giveaways), the spurious posts have collectively amassed 30,700 reactions; 15,100 comments; and 520 shares as of writing. Other users have reposted the made-up quote on Instagram, Threads and X (formerly Twitter).
