A video supposedly of the arrival of former president Rodrigo Duterte at the Manila International Airport (MIA) is circulating online. This is false. Clips from two unrelated events were spliced to create the footage.
Since May 13, Facebook (FB) users and pages have been sharing a one-minute and 22-second video of a vlogger supposedly capturing the arrival of Duterte at the airport. It carried the text:
“Manila Airport Chaos. When I arrived at MIA Philippines.”
The video starts with clips of the vlogger arriving at the airport and wondering who the crowd was waiting for. At the 00:10-second mark, the woman said:
“Okay. I wonder what is going on because there are tons of people here, even on the top floor. It’s like they’re waiting for some kind of a celebrity.”
The video then shifts to footage of Duterte and his entourage entering a room, welcomed by supporters. At this point, the video carried the text:
“Welcome back Tatay Digong, naka balik najud ang usgan nato na tatay (Our father is back). Nice our great president in Philippines.”
This is not true. The video spliced the used clips from the two unrelated events to make it appear that Duterte has returned to the country from The Netherlands where he has been incarcerated since March 12.
The first sixteen seconds came from a video of vlogger Mom Duty uploaded on April 23 showing the arrival of Korean actor Lee Min-ho at the Manila airport. Only the first portions of the video were shown.
The rest of the video shows Duterte’s arrival at the Hugpong Youth Convention held at Azuela Cove in Davao City on Feb. 28. A TikTok user uploaded a copy of the video on March 1. Other videos and photos from the event were also uploaded online.
The spliced video circulated a day after the midterm elections. Duterte, while still detained at the International Criminal Court facility in The Hague, won the mayoralty race in Davao City against his former cabinet secretary Karlo Nograles.
Ten posts by FB users and page Viral Trend Video (created on April 28, 2024 as Urban Deca Homes Ortigas) collectively garnered 39,803 reactions, 7,045 comments, 21,420 shares and 3,022,000 views.
