A Facebook (FB) page revived a year-old report about the Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) procurement of new rescue equipment under the Duterte administration and falsely claimed mainstream media ignored it. But the page, perhaps unknowingly, used photos of the event taken by national media.
The PCG’s presentation of “newly-acquired” watercrafts, pick-up trucks and diving gear featured in SOLID Duterte’s misleading May 27 post happened on May 30, 2019. This was widely reported by major media outlets such as Inquirer.net, Radyo Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, The Philippine Star, Radio Mindanao Network, and The Manila Times.
SOLID Duterte, which did not clarify in its post that the event took place last year, uploaded four photos and wrote as its caption, “Isa sa mga MAGANDANG NAGAWA NG PANGULO NG DUTERTE na ayaw IBALITA AT IPAKITA SA MEDIA DATI.. (One of the good things done by President Duterte that the media didn’t want to report and show before).”
The image showing PCG officers standing in front of their new water assets can be traced to the Radyo Inquirer report on the event. SOLID Duterte cropped the upper part of the photo, removing the name of the reporter who took the picture.
Two photos of Toyota Hilux trucks and diving equipment, on the other hand, were tweeted by a Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter during the event last year. One image can no longer be traced, but shows jetski units and PCG members similar to the ones shown in the Inquirer reporter’s tweet.
Philippine Coast Guard launches its newly acquired rescue assets. These are expected to be used this coming rainy season. pic.twitter.com/zdBS9ocARN
— Frances Mangosing (@FMangosingINQ) May 30, 2019
An exact copy of SOLID Duterte’s post, which could have reached over 116,000 people, was first published around the time PCG announced last year its acquisition of equipment to boost the country’s disaster response capability. SOLID Duterte was the first account to revive the post this year, which was replicated by at least one FB page, LABAN PINAS.
The inaccurate post made the rounds online as the Duterte administration received criticism over its militaristic approach in enforcing quarantine rules amid the pandemic and Congress’ speedy passage of the controversial Anti-Terror Bill.
SOLID Duterte, created April 16, and LABAN PINAS, created Feb. 16, were both flagged by VERA Files Fact Check earlier this month for publishing fake quote cards on Vice President Leni Robredo and Sen. Grace Poe.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)