A Facebook page has recycled a 4-year-old photo of picketing typhoon “Yolanda” survivors to slam them for seeking justice from President Rodrigo Duterte.
Filipino Community’s Dec. 13 post made it appear the rally took place only recently when in reality it occurred in November 2017, or four years after the supertyphoon battered the country, leaving more than 6,000 dead.
Panay Today posted on Nov. 8, 2017 the original photo of the protest action in Estancia, Iloilo. The demonstrators carried a tarpaulin that reads:
Duterte INUTIL! Hustisya sa mga biktima sang BAGYONG YOLANDA, DIIN NA (Duterte useless! Justice for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, where)!?
In its Dec. 13 post, Filipino Community accused the protesters four years after of trying to cover up history by blaming Duterte instead of his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, for failing to act on their plight. Aquino was president when Yolanda tore into the Visayas.
Filipino Community’s caption reads:
2013 naganap ang Bagyong Yolanda sa panunungkulan ni Aquino tapos kay Duterte nyo isinisisi para mapagtakpan ang kasaysayan (Typhoon Yolanda happened in 2013 under the Aquino presidency. Now you’re blaming Duterte to cover up history)!
Duterte had used the slow recovery process to campaign against his rival, then Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, in the 2016 presidential election. When he was elected president, he promised he would finish the work left by the previous administration.
The Filipino Community post has elicited more than 2,000 reactions, 820 comments and 275 shares. The page was created on Aug. 12, 2017 and has 243,324 likes and 305,881 followers.
The post has been shared on other Facebook groups such as Philippine Federal Movement International.
This is not the first time the photo has been reposted without context. It also made the rounds in 2020 on various Facebook pages. (RP)
References
Duterte Social Media Supporter. (2020, December 7). Luh jajajaja lol give a captions [Image attached]. Facebook. http://archive.today/KonPT
Filipino Community. (2021, December 13). 2013 naganap ang Bagyong Yolanda sa panunungkulan ni Aquino tapos kay Duterte nyo isinisisi para mapagtakpan ang kasaysayan! [Image attached]. Facebook. https://archive.md/wip/emhKI
INQUIRER.net. (2016, March 3). Duterte to Roxas: Where are the billions of Yolanda funds? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgLiW1Y8Y9E
Mildred’s TV. (2020, November 21). Ano ba nagawa ang dating administration noon mga relief goods nasira lng ndi naipamigay, panahon ba ni DIGONG yan [Image attached]. Facebook. http://archive.today/TS3gF
Panay Today. (2017, November 8). Yolanda survivors in Estancia, Iloilo condemned Duterte's inutile response to bring justice to victims of super typhoon Yolanda [Image attached]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/1044303752294429/posts/yolanda-survivors-in-estancia-iloilo-condemned-dutertes-inutile-response-to-brin/1608009492590516/
Pinas Voice. (2020, November 21). Utak nyo asan na din [Image attached]. Facebook. http://archive.today/aT7Zd
RTVMalacanang. (2016, November 9). 3rd Year Yolanda Commemoration (Speech) 11/8/16 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzWjwBQvvr0