A photo of a supposed police report from the Beverly Hills Police Department is circulating online, claiming that First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos was among the companions of Rustan Commercial Corporation executive Juan Paolo Tantoco at the time of his death in March 2025. This is fake.
There are no companions mentioned in the original document obtained by ABS-CBN News on July 15.
First published by columnist and former press secretary Rigoberto “Bobi” Tiglao on July 14, he said on his Facebook post:
“I received via viber this photo of a Beverly Hills Police records supervisor reporting on Mr. Tantoco’s death and persons who were with him when police arrived: a “Lisa Araneta Marcos” was one. I also checked if there was such a records supervisor. There is. The Palace spokesperson who denied this should explain.”
The document posted by Tiglao included the following claims:
“…[T]he cause is initially suspected to be drug overdose. White powder suspected to be cocaine was seen scattered on tables and the floor. Companions of the victim were summoned to BHPD for questioning, which were Dinah Arroyo Tantoco, Liza Araneta Marcos and Alexa Miro.”
In a July 17 briefing, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles “had verified with the [BHPD] on the veracity of the alleged report and found that the police report posted by Mr. Tiglao was altered.”
Based on the original police report, the summary of the incident ended with the details that the “officer took over with life-saving measures and subject was pronounced deceased at 12:05 hours by paramedic.” No companions or cause of death were mentioned in the police blotter.
Castro said the “BHPD would use terms such as ‘suspected to be drug overdose,’ ‘suspected to be cocaine,’ and ‘summoned to BHPD,'” as these are “not in line with the BHPD’s standard language and protocol.”
Earlier, Castro said that the alleged police report circulating on social media was “fake” and “a big lie,” noting that the lines detailing Tantoco’s cause of death and his supposed companions were “just added.”
It was only this July, four months after Tantoco’s passing, that a report published by the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner confirmed that the cause of his death was “cocaine effects” and noted “probable atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (a buildup of fats and cholesterol in the arteries)” as a significant condition.
The photo of the fabricated police report emerged on the same day Sen. Imee Marcos, the president’s sister, had urged Malacañang “to issue a comprehensive report on the circumstances of Mr. Tantoco’s death, including any involvement—direct or indirect—of the First Lady or other Philippine government officials.”
The viral FB post by Tiglao, which carried the altered document, has so far received 11,000 reactions, 27 comments, and 12,000 shares. Another FB page, Ms. Bisdak Blog (created on April 9, 2018), republished the photo of the police report, claiming it is “not ‘fake news.'” Several copies have also been reposted on X (formerly Twitter).
