Pictures of bridges in Greece and France have been misappropriated in a Facebook post that claimed they showed the Bohol-Leyte Link Bridge that will purportedly be built soon. Government shelved the project in 2019.
Supporters of Rodrigo Duterte flooded the comments with praises for the former president’s supposed “legacy” after the Facebook Page Duterte Fans Club uploaded the pictures on Nov. 13 with the accompanying caption:
Philippine connectivity || Soon to rise?
23-km Bohol-Leyte Link Bridge.
Bridges to link Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Leyte. The bridge will link Getafe town in Bohol and Cordova town on Mactan Island in Cebu. These towns are 17.5 km away from each other. So much opportunities not just to the Real Estate Industry but across all industries.
Initially lined up in 2018 among the Nationwide Island Provinces Link Bridges of then president Rodrigo Duterte’s Build Build Build program, the Bohol-Leyte Bridge project was shelved in 2021 by the National Economic and Development Authority on the recommendation of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
This followed studies conducted in 2019 by the DPWH and Japan International Cooperation Agency that recommended postponement of the project.
The project, included in NEDA’s list of infrastructure flagship projects in 2018 and 2019, was removed from the 2021 index. It is not included in the most recent Infrastructure Flagship Projects of the Build Better More program of the Marcos administration.
A reverse image search on Google shows Duterte Fans Club used the photo of the Rio - Antirrio Bridge in Charilaos, Greece that was uploaded on Imgur on Oct. 18 2016 by user Sabu Joseph. The photo appeared in a Feb. 9, 2015 post on former social networking site Google+, but is already inaccessible.
A Google Earth view from the Antirrio Lighthouse shows a similar angle of the Greek bridge sharing the same structure and environment as the photo used in the post.
While taken at a slightly different angle, this Google Earth street view of Sandouville in northern France proves that the second photo claimed to be the Bohol-Leyte link is a foreign infrastructure.
The photo of Pont de Normandie used in the post was earlier uploaded on Nov. 10, 2009, but is no longer accessible. Dutch photographer TW Van Urck took a photo of the bridge from the same angle in May 2019.
Contrary to the claim, Cordova town in Cebu and Jetafe in Bohol are about 28 – not 17.5 – kilometers, according to Google Maps.
As of writing, the post uploaded by the Facebook Page Duterte Fans Club has accumulated 70,000 reactions, 5,700 comments and 4,700 shares. The page was created in February 2017 and was originally named President Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte News and Updates.
The post also appeared on United and Progressive Philippines and the Metro Manila Subway Update Facebook Pages which have 70,000 and 78,000 followers, respectively. (EN)