A viral post on Facebook is showing an alleged photo of former president Rodrigo Duterte looking frail and thin while in a hospital bed. This is fake.
On July 11, an FB user published the photo with the following caption:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he looks frail and unwell now. At his age, he’s endured so much. He doesn’t deserve this — no one does. Only God knows what comes next… and the pain and impact it will have on millions of Filipinos, and even others around the world.”
The spurious image of Duterte shows the former president in very poor condition while lying in a bed, a hospital tag can be seen wrapped around his wrist. It continues to receive engagement from netizens nearly two weeks after being published.
In a July 13 media interview, Vice President Sara Duterte said the viral photo of former President Rodrigo Duterte circulating on social media is fake.
“Kaninang umaga mayroong nagpadala sa akin ng photo na mukhang nasa hospital bed si dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte at mayroon siyang hospital tag, dalawang band, sa kamay niya. So hindi po totoo yung photo na iyon. Malamang edited yung photo na iyon. Malamang ibang pasyente iyon. Inano lang nila ang mukha ni dating pangulong Duterte,” she said.
The vice president further added that her father is in the regular wing of the International Criminal Court’s detention unit, not in the hospital wing. She said her father was walking around that day with a cane. “So clearly, he is not sick and has no illness that requires him to be bed-ridden,” she said in Filipino.
A reverse image search also showed that the older Duterte’s face in the fake image was lifted from the photo published by Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go in March this year when the former president landed in The Hague, Netherlands after he was served his arrest warrant.
According to ICC guidelines, aside from the front of the ICC building and its media center, recording anywhere else within the ICC premises is strictly prohibited. Recording devices – such as cameras, phones and laptops – are also not allowed to be brought out of the media center.
The fake photo emerged a week after the ICC’s plenary of judges rejected Duterte’s plea to disqualify two judges from presiding over his case.
The FB user’s post has garnered over 361,000 reactions, 66,200 comments and 27,000 shares.
