Queen Elizabeth II didn’t commend President Rodrigo Duterte and call Filipinos the “worst citizens” in her special televised address to Britons on April 5 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A quote card uploaded to an April 6 Facebook post in which she purportedly did is the latest of spurious quote cards that have public figures and celebrities expressing their admiration or support for Duterte.
The queen's fabricated quote reads:
Pres. Duterte is the kind of leader who knows the way, goes they way, and shows the way. Filipinos are very fortunate to have him. Seriously, he looked so overworked. He may not be perfect, but he truly loves his country. Philippines doesn’t have the worst government. It actually has the worst citizens.
The last two sentences are similar to what fictional character Meredith Grey was made to say in another invented quote:
Ph does not have the worst governance. It has the worst Citizens.
Grey is a doctor portrayed by actress Ellen Pompeo in the longrunning American TV series “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Nowhere in the prerecorded royal speech did the 93-year-old monarch ever mention the Philippines and Duterte or another country and head of state.
Several news sites ran the transcript of the speech.
The FB post had manipulated Inquirer.net’s quote card on the queen’s message. The genuine card states:
This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal… We will succeed — and that success will belong to every one of us.
In her rare public address from Windsor Castle, the fifth in her 68-year-reign, Queen Elizabeth called for unity, saying the United Kingdom will overcome the crisis.
The queen also recalled the first broadcast she made in 1940 at Windsor Castle.
Prince Charles, the queen's eldest child and heir to the British throne, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Facebook post containing the queen's fake quote and describing it as "very well said" has been shared nearly a thousand times. (The post was taken down after this fact check was published.--Ed.)
The FB page Rodrigo Duterte Update, which has more than 136,000 followers, also uploaded the manipulated card. The post is still up.
References
Celebrity quotes hailing Duterte leadership during pandemic fake. (2020, April 1). Retrieved from https://www.factrakers.org/post/celebrity-quotes-hailing-duterte-leadership-during-pandemic-are-fake
Inquirer.net. (2020, April 6). Queen Elizabeth II has a message to the world in the midst of coronavirus pandemic [Facebook update]. Retrieved from https://web.facebook.com/inquirerdotnet/posts/10158982213749453:
Rodrigo Duterte Update. (2020, April 6). [Facebook update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/rodyduterteroa/posts/3049140588469973
Stubley, P. (2020, April 5). Queen’s speech: Read monarch’s coronavirus address to nation in full. The Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/queens-speech-coronavirus-full-transcript-text-read-a9448531.html
The Queen's coronavirus speech transcript: 'We will succeed and better days will come.’ (2020, April 5). Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/05/queens-coronavirus-speech-full-will-succeed-better-days-will/
Very well said your highness....sad but thats the reality.. (2020, April 6). [Facebook update]. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/alcobert.lopez.9/posts/585359088736141