An online video containing excerpts from President Rodrigo Duterte’s old speeches falsely alleges that the president has “uncovered” opposition senator Franklin Drilon’s “ghost projects.”
The YouTube channel DDS NEWSINFO and affiliated Facebook page Duterte News Info Live posted on Jan 11 and Jan. 12 the 8-minute video with the headline:
BREAKING NEWS TODAY JANUARY 11, 2021 PRES DUTERTE BINOKING SI DRILON (BREAKING NEWS TODAY JANUARY 11, 2021 PRES DUTERTE EXPOSED DRILON)
The text on on the video’s thumbnail reads:
DUTERTE NAHULI ANG MGA GHOST PROJECTS NI DRILON (DUTERTE CAUGHT DRILON’S GHOST PROJECTS)
A reverse image search of key frames from the video shows the video clips were from Duterte’s Nov. 5, 2020 weekly briefing on the pandemic and Nov. 19, 2019 media interview.
The video ran Duterte’s Nov. 5, 2020 statement on alleged corrupt practices in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), specifically low-quality public works such as public toilets with no covers and divisions.
However, there was no mention of Drilon, who is Senate minority leader and vice chairman of the Liberal Party, in the misleading video.
The uncut original video and the transcript of the speech also show Duterte never mentioned the senator throughout the briefing.
The second clip is from Duterte's media interview in November 2019 where he defended the controversial cauldron built for the 2019 SEA Games.
Drilon had questioned the extravagant amount spent on the cauldron which he said could have gone to building classrooms.
Duterte clapped back at Drilon, mentioning the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center in 2015 for which the senator was accused of plunder in a complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The Office of the Ombudsman, however, dismissed the complaint against Drilon and other officials in May 2015, citing insufficient evidence to charge them with malversation of public funds, plunder, grave misconduct and dishonesty.
There are no new cases against Drilon.
In late December, Duterte announced the names of current and former lawmakers who supposedly received kickbacks from the government’s public works projects. Drilon was not among the names he read.
As of writing, the YouTube video has gained 149,320 views and about 3,000 likes while the Facebook post has garnered about 706 reactions, 309 shares and 88 comments.
The video is also being shared and reposted on other social media pages like Duterte News Report and Viral Videos Idol Pinoy on Facebook and BANAT NEWS TV on YouTube.
Duterte News Info Live shares pro-Duterte news with misleading headlines and has gained 9,029 likes and 49,809 followers since it was created on Facebook last October. The YouTube channel was created in 2012 and has chalked up more than 43 million views. (RDG)
References
BANAT NEWS TV. (2021, January 12). BREAKING NEWS JANUARY 13 2021 SAPOL sa CCTV ni PRES DUTERTE BINOKING ang KABULAS-TUGAN ni DRILON !?. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/OCfhLJXp7Dc
DDS NEWSINFO. (2021, January 10). BREAKING NEWS TODAY JANUARY 11, 2021 PRES DUTERTE BINOKING SI DRILON. [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/RmTXncyh0h0
Duterte News Info Live. (2021, January 12). BREAKING NEWS TODAY JANUARY 11, 2021 PRES DUTERTE BINOKING SI DRILON. [Facebook Post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/100526315170894/videos/1052086468623924
Duterte News Report. (2021, January 13). BREAKING NEWS JANUARY 13 2021 SAPOL sa CCTV ni PRES DUTERTE BINOKING ang KABULAS-TUGAN ni DRILON !?. [Facebook Post]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=114591373868455&id=101449355182657
Presidential Communications Operations Office. (2020, November 5). Talk to the People of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Retrieved from https://pcoo.gov.ph/presidential-speech/talk-to-the-people-of-president-rodrigo-roa-duterte-on-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-30/
Presidential Communications Operations Office. (2019, November 19). Media Interview of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Retrieved from https://pcoo.gov.ph/presidential-speech/media-interview-of-president-rodrigo-roa-duterte/
RTVMalacanang. (2020, November 15). Kumusta Po Mahal Kong Kababayan? | Meeting on COVID-19 Concerns and Talk to the People on COVID-19. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/TO-sAzymhmA?t=1669
RTVMalacanang. (2019, November 19). Kumusta Po Mahal Kong Kababayan? | Media Interview - Malacañan Palace 11/19/2019. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/-oo3AoM9dbg?t=2444
Senate of the Philippines. (2015, May 20). Ombudsman junks case vs Drilon, Singson, Jimenez, others for lack of evidence. Retrieved from https://pcoo.gov.ph/presidential-speech/talk-to-the-people-of-president-rodrigo-roa-duterte-on-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-30/
Viral Videos Idol Pinoy. (2021, January 11). LATEST NEWS PH 01/11/21 PRES DUTERTE BINOKING SI DRILON SA MGA GHOST PROJECT NITO. [Facebook Post]. Retrieved from: https://web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=226352775640479&id=108408904101534