A satirical graphic posted by a pro-Duterte Facebook page claims that Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte signed a historic railway contract with Yukari Yakumo, a Japanese governor of Gensokyo.
Both “Gensokyo” and “Yukari Yakumo” are fictional. They originate from a Japanese video game franchise and do not exist in the real world.
An FB page posted the satirical graphic on May 3, branding it as a report from a page called “Bun Bun Maru News.” The fake news card bore an overlay text that read:
“Davao City Signs Historic Railway Contract. Davao City Mayor Baste Duterte and the Japanese Governor of Gensokyo, Yukari Yakumo, sign a contract for the feasibility study for the historic Davao City subway.”
Several social media users congratulated the mayor in the comment section, apparently believing the post to be genuine.
A quick Google Search yielded no verified announcement from the Davao City government, the Department of Transportation, media outlets, or any Japanese government body confirming a signed feasibility study or contract for a Davao City subway or railway system.
Gensokyo is not a place in Japan. It is the name of a fictional, sealed-off fantasy realm that serves as the setting of Touhou Project, a long-running series of Japanese bullet-hell shooter video games created by developer ZUN beginning in the mid-1990s.
The character in the photo is Yukari Yakumo, a well-known mainstay in the Touhou Project franchise.
The graphic’s own watermark “BUN BUN MARU NEWS” is perhaps its clearest tell. The Bunbunmaru Newspaper is a fictional tabloid from the Touhou Project, written by the in-universe character Aya Shameimaru. It is not a real media organization and has never published content in the real world.
The post appears to be pro-Duterte propaganda, deliberately published to make it seem as if Baste Duterte had secured a major railway deal for Davao City.
As of writing, the satirical post published by FB page DDS16 (created on May 22, 2024) has garnered 3,900 reactions; 232 comments; and 340 shares.
