A spliced video clip of an impersonator of President Rodrigo Duterte has been passed off by supporters of Vice President Leni Robredo as his endorsement of her candidacy for the May 9 polls.
The man in the video is not Duterte but Jun Alegre, a candidate for board member in the second district of Albay and owner of local radio station Zagitsit News FM.
Duterte said in his recorded Talk to the People broadcast on May 3 that he will not endorse any presidential candidate.
Pro-Robredo TikTok user Dayunyor posted a 29-second clip on May 8, an excerpt of the introduction of Alegre's speech during Albay gubernatorial bet Noel Rosal's miting de avance at Sawangan Park in Legazpi City on May 7. The video had a sticker text saying:
Duterte Endorsed Leni! Unbelievable!
Mimicking Duterte's voice, Alegre was shown in the video saying:
I came all the way here from Davao and this may be my first time that I'm gonna make public my choice for president — Leni ako (I'm for Leni).
Alegre shared the same TikTok clip on his personal Facebook account. He also reposted a video clip of his speech taken from a different angle that clearly showed it is he who delivered the remark.
While officially an independent candidate, Alegre is campaigning with Team Rosal which earlier expressed support for Robredo's candidacy. Alegre's Facebook account also contains posts supporting the vice president.
The TikTok video has garnered 2.1 million views, 59,500 likes, 5,036 comments and 14,200 shares as of writing. A similar clip posted by TikTok user JJ DE LUNA REYES received 1.8 million views, 69,500 reactions, 3,870 comments and 7,947 shares. (RC)