Several Facebook (FB) users have uploaded a fake quote card with President Rodrigo Duterte purportedly saying he will make certain that Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go succeeds him, and that this has the backing of China.
This statement is manufactured. Nowhere in Duterte’s speeches has he made this pronouncement about his long-time aide, and neither has it been reported by the media.
The untrue graphic, which a reader requested VERA Files Fact Check to look into, consisted of a photo of Duterte and the statement: “Sisiguraduhin ko na s’ya (Bong Go) ang magiging kasunod ko sa pagka-Pangulo. Gagawin ko ang lahat para hindi mailipat ang kapangyarihan sa iba lalo na sa mga dilaw na’yan put*ngin*ng oposisyon (I will make sure he will be my successor for the presidency. I’ll do everything I can to prevent the transfer of power to others, especially to the yellows, the opposition).”
The fabricated quote, which has been circulating since March 12, also said: “100% ang suporta ng China sa kanya kaya dapat mga Pilipino sumunod na lang (China supports him 100% so Filipinos should just obey).”
Also this week, another fake quote card on next year’s elections made the rounds on social media. It said Duterte would close voting precincts if Vice President Leni Robredo decides to run for the presidency.
The fabricated quote card on Go and China’s support for his presidential bid surfaced a day after Duterte said in a speech on March 11 that the senator is aspiring to run for president.
Go has said that the chief executive’s pronouncement was merely a joke, adding he has no plans to run for the position in 2022 but might change his mind if his former boss runs as his vice president.
Among those who shared the fake posts were FB pages Confeermed, Amor Powers and Kwento mo sa Pagong, and several netizens, some of whom screen grabbed Confeermed’s post and re-uploaded it on their news feeds.
Confeermed’s post has received over 640 shares as of publishing. The page was created in July 2015, Kwento mo sa Pagong in April 2015, and Amor Powers in July 2017.
(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)