A graphic that has drawn thousands of views on Facebook is claiming that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has “officially directed” Metropolitan Manila Development Authority General Manager Nicolas Torre III to join the ongoing search for Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, who remains at-large following an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity from the International Criminal Court. This is false.
The graphic appeared to be originally published by a “news” page on the morning of May 22, showing photos of Marcos and Torre along with the headline:
“MARCOS ORDERS MMDA CHIEF TORRE TO JOIN MANHUNT FOR ICC FUGITIVE BATO DELA ROSA.”
In its caption, the page elaborated the supposed “news update:”
“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has officially directed MMDA General Manager Nicholas Torre to join the nationwide manhunt for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is now classified as a fugitive wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
Confirming the deployment, Torre stood firm by his earlier statement: ”Pag Presidente nag-utos, automatic no choice, ‘di ba?‘ (When the President gives the order, it’s automatic you don’t have a choice, isn’t it?) He emphasized that in public service, a direct order from the President is final and unquestionable — requiring immediate compliance, regardless of the target’s position or political influence.”
Around 7 p.m., the FB page deleted the first paragraph of its caption and corrected its headline based on Torre’s actual statement that he was ready to join the manhunt for Dela Rosa if Marcos ordered him to do so. An apology was also included in the post, adding they “did not intend to mislead anyone.”
However, from May 22 to 23, several FB users and pages already republished the spurious social media card and caption, leading more netizens to believe the untrue claim. Some users also uploaded a composite photo of Torre and a wanted poster of Dela Rosa, but carrying the exact caption.
There is no official order or statement from Marcos instructing Torre to participate in the search for the ICC-wanted senator. No credible media organization has reported on the claim either.
When asked about Torre’s remark that he is ready to assist the manhunt for Dela Rosa, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a May 24 radio interview that “there is no message about that.” She added she didn’t want to preempt Marcos on tapping more personalities or experts to arrest the ICC suspect.
“But for now, it seems the forces of the PNP (Philippine National Police), NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) are sufficient,” Castro said in Filipino, noting that everyone is “welcome to help if they ever see a fugitive.”
The inaccurate posts spread on the same day Torre said during a May 22 media forum that he has no choice but to follow if Marcos gave him a possible “special assignment” to help in the search for Dela Rosa.
But even without Marcos’ order, Torre said the MMDA can still assist the authorities in searching for the lawmaker, especially if the areas where Dela Rosa could be hiding fall within the agency’s jurisdiction.
On May 22, the PNP announced the deployment of tracker teams, in coordination with the DOJ and NBI, to locate and serve the ICC arrest warrant to Dela Rosa. The former police chief and enforcer of Duterte’s drug war is facing crimes against humanity case in relation to at least 32 killings between 2016 and 2018.
At least 11 posts from multiple FB users and pages, including No to Marcos forever in politics (created on June 17, 2024) and the impossible (Jan. 13, 2025), posted the graphic with false claims. They collectively received 17,669 reactions; 3,323 comments and 1,646 shares. One reel that displayed the fraudulent “news card” has been viewed 88,000 times.
