Multiple video clips on unrelated issues from different sources were combined into a nine-minute video that falsely claimed President Rodrigo Duterte declared former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV guilty over alleged misuse of millions of pesos given to him by former President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III.
Youtube channel Banat News TV and Facebook (FB) page Philippines Training Hot New uploaded on June 2 this video with the headline: PRES DUTERTE TULFO HULI si TRILLANES HINATULANG GUILTY 245M BINIGAY ni PNOY BINUNYAG na! (Pres. Duterte, Tulfo, caught Trillanes, pronounced guilty, P245 million given by PNoy revealed!). It also added “Just in” to have a semblance of a news update.
This is false. Nowhere in the video did Duterte mention Trillanes, nor did he mention the P245-million cash transaction between him and PNoy.
The video was patched together using three unrelated clips: the first was a clip from a report by radio presenters Deo Macalma and Angelo Palmones in DZRH’s June 1 episode for radio show Pangunahing Balita, which showed a clip of Duterte in his May 31 televised address directing vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. to make sure COVID-19 vaccines are distributed to the provinces.
A clip from the same episode used a soundbite from Palmones saying Trillanes was found guilty by the Makati Regional Trial Court of libel against former Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay for his April 2015 statement of “justice for sale.”
This was falsely linked to the last clip which was actually from an Oct. 3, 2018, report by radio and television presenter Erwin Tulfo on his radio show Tutok where he spoke to Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Greco Belgica about Trillanes’ alleged misuse of pork barrel funds amounting to P245 million.
The false video emerged two days after staunch Duterte critic Trillanes was pronounced guilty of libel, as reported in several news accounts.
BANAT NEWS TV’s video has over 80,000 views. The channel was created on Dec 26, 2015.
Philippines Training Hot New’s video was viewed nearly 150,000 times. The FB page has over 40,000 followers.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
