黑料社

MANILA, Philippines聽 鈥� Two ranking House lawmakers have expressed doubts about social media posts regarding recent rallies staged to protest the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, saying there were instances when photos of other gatherings were used.

During a press briefing on Thursday, La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega V and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said there seemed to be an attempt to deceive people into thinking that massive rallies were staged to call out Duterte鈥檚 arrest.

The rallies were supposedly held to protest the implementation of the International Criminal Court鈥檚 (ICC) arrest order against Duterte last March 11.

According to Ortega, people need to be 鈥渄iscerning鈥� about the spread of misinformation and disinformation about pro-Duterte rallies.

鈥淚 saw videos of the demonstration and rally. The lights used were colored pink. I have not seen any rally 鈥� there鈥檚 only one group that staged big demonstrations and rallies that used pink as a background light,鈥� he said in Filipino.

鈥淪o at that moment, I said it appears questionable already.聽 As I have said, this information should be verified,鈥� he added.

When pressed if he believed the images posted by Duterte supporters belonged to the rallies of former Vice President Leni Robredo 鈥� who famously used pink as her motif in the 2022 presidential race 鈥� Ortega said he was not saying that it came from this political side.

However, Ortega said that further investigation might be needed to ascertain if the Robredo campaign鈥檚 videos and photos along with other rallies were used to make it seem that a lot of people were calling out Duterte鈥檚 arrest.

鈥淚 am not saying that it came from them, I am just saying that the light used was pink.聽 But I think journalists can check on this, as to where the photos were sourced because it鈥檚 up there,鈥� he explained in Filipino.

鈥淪o if you Google any rally, you can collage these photos, post these spliced images, and that鈥檚 it,鈥� he added.

Adiong, meanwhile, said there seemed to be an intention to deceive people into thinking that massive civil unrest was ongoing.

The lawmaker, who hails from Mindanao, acknowledged that there were people protesting Duterte鈥檚 arrest near his area, especially since the former president hails from Davao City. However, the protest movements were an exercise of free speech and not meant to spread unrest.

鈥淭here鈥檚 already the deceit eh, the intention to deceive. So that鈥檚 what we need to counter, there is an intention to deceive to divert discussions and reach a point where you would no longer agree because in the first place, the information is not correct and accurate,鈥� he said.

鈥淟ike in Mindanao, there are rallies staged there, we have seen it. But these are all gatherings to share their opinion. But as to a widespread [unrest], there is none. So we really have to counter the fake news because other people 鈥� even foreigners 鈥� might believe that there is really civil unrest,鈥� he added.

There has been a deluge of misinformation and disinformation since Duterte was arrested on the order of the ICC.

On its social media pages, GMA 黑料社 fact-checked a post using its footage, which made it seem that thousands of people attended a prayer rally for Duterte in Cebu City.

GMA 黑料社 clarified that the footage was taken during the Sinulog Festival in January 2025.

Other lawmakers also called out misinformation and disinformation on social media networks.

Ortega previously said the massive spread of misinformation and disinformation after Duterte was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court (ICC) only brings shame to the Philippines.

He was referring to the many social media posts containing fake information and even hate speech against foreign institutions like the ICC. Duterte supporters also harassed ICC Judge Lulia Motoc and made degrading comments about her.

There were also posts falsely claiming that Motoc shared a photo with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.鈥檚 wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

Also, Ortega said there have been 鈥渇alse narratives鈥� on social media, including those from former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who claimed that Duterte was missing and was not given the proper medical care.

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Last week, Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin said Medialdea was spreading misinformation, noting that her prior experience working with the Dutch people showed that they are very meticulous and considerate regarding the health and welfare of people.