Spliced footage of Duterte-backed politician sparks turncoat claims
"Vic Rodriguez has defected, a former ally is now angry with the Dutertes," a narrator says in the video shared May 10, 2025 on Instagram.
It appears to show lawyer Victor Rodriguez saying: "Let us also look for the billions of pesos Vice President Sara Duterte plundered from government funds.
"Because you heard it from me and I'll say it again. Vice President Sara Duterte will be impeached and removed from office."
Tagalog-language text overlaid to the clip goes on to claim he said the vice president should be jailed.
Rodriguez, a former executive secretary to President Ferdinand Marcos, unsuccessfully ran for senator in the mid-term vote largely defined by the explosive feud between the archipelago's two highest officials.
The vice president was impeached by the House of Representatives in February for "high crimes" including corruption and an alleged assassination plot against Marcos.
Duterte's impeachment trial was a key talking point in the election which decided half the 24 senators who will serve as her jury (archived link).
She needs nine votes for an acquittal. Losing would mean her removal and a permanent ban from public office but not imprisonment (archived link).
Rodriguez threw his support behind Duterte after exiting the Marcos government less than three months into the new presidency in 2022 (archived link).
Former president Rodrigo Duterte and daughter Sara both backed Rodriguez's failed Senate bid (archived here and here).
The manipulated video first spread on TikTok in November 2024. It has been re-shared sporadically since, including on Facebook as a political advert in February.
Philippine fact-checking organisation Vera Files has earlier debunked the posts.
Keyword searches on Google found the original footage of Rodriguez, posted on his TikTok account on November 25, 2024, had the overlaid text "Protect VP Sara Duterte!" at the beginning of the video (archived link).
This footage contained statements edited out in the circulating clip.
"Let us also look for the billions of pesos plundered by the government, in particular, the over 500-billion-peso flood-control funds," Rodriguez can be heard saying.
The statement appears to refer to a proposal for 10 infrastructure projects to manage flooding across the archipelago, written in a government document released after Marcos's State of the Nation Address in July 2024 (archived link).
Rodriguez can also be heard saying, "Let us also protect Vice President Sara Duterte. Because you heard it from me and I'll say it again. They will impeach Vice President Sara Duterte and remove her from office."
In social media posts published on his Facebook and TikTok accounts in January and February, Rodriguez reiterated his "staunch support" for the Dutertes and labelled the clips as "fake" (archived here and here).
"An edited video is circulating published by a troll account to share false information," his statement on January 27 read. "Don't believe this."
AFP has debunked more misinformation on the election here.
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Politico
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Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Bethany Irvine Good Sunday morning. This is Zack Stanton, struggling to believe it's already June. Get in touch. WHAT TRUMP IS POSTING: Last night, President Donald Trump shared a post on Truth Social from an account with 986 followers alleging that Joe Biden was 'executed in 2020,' and replaced with 'clones' and 'robotic engineered soulless mindless entities.' WHAT ERNST IS POSTING: At a town hall Friday, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) was answering a question about cuts to Medicaid in the House GOP-passed reconciliation bill when an audience member interrupted her to shout that 'people will die' if because of the changes. Ernst replied that 'we all are going to die' — creating the sort of viral clip that travelled beyond the reaches of the internet to land on the front page of the Des Moines Register. (Watch the exchange, in case you missed it.) Now comes a sarcastic 'apology' video from Ernst. 'I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that yes, we are all going to perish from this earth,' Ernst said in a video she shared yesterday on Instagram — and which appears to have been filmed in a cemetery. 'So I apologize. And I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy as well. But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.' More from the Des Moines Register's Stephen Gruber-Miller Speaking of Medicaid … DRIVING THE DAY THE CONVERSATION: When it comes to the ways of Washington, Mehmet Oz is still a novice. That's a position at once new and familiar: Prior to entering politics, he was a famous doctor on TV and, before that, a celebrated heart surgeon in Manhattan. To put a fine point on it: It's been a long time since he's been a rookie in his chosen career. The thrill of the new: 'It is exhilarating to learn new things, especially if you think you can help,' Oz tells Playbook's Dasha Burns in the debut episode of 'The Conversation,' POLITICO's new Sunday show you can watch now on YouTube. Oz thinks he can help: That's partly why he took the job as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 'No one wants to come work in government and do nothing,' he tells Dasha. 'Why would you take that job?' As in medicine, so too in government: Good intentions don't always lead to good outcomes. 'Sometimes, stuff breaks when you try to make a difference,' says Oz. 'I've told the team this multiple times: If we get everything right, we didn't take enough chances.' The stakes are incredibly high. Oz's remit puts him in charge of programs that provide health care for about half of all Americans. Were Medicare or Medicaid to 'break,' it could affect millions of lives. That's the fear voiced by critics of the reconciliation bill, which makes major changes to Medicaid. Opponents of the legislation cite the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimate that 7.6 million people will go uninsured if the policy is enacted. It's not just Democrats: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) torched the Medicaid provisions of the bill in a high-profile NYT op-ed a few weeks back. 'If Congress cuts funding for Medicaid benefits, Missouri workers and their children will lose their health care,' he wrote. 'And hospitals will close. It's that simple.' Oz has heard Hawley's critique. 'We're not cutting Medicaid,' Oz insists. 'There is no proposal I've seen … that doesn't increase spending on Medicaid. … We want to take care of folks who are not owning a big part of the economic pie of America. That stated, you have to make the system viable. I'm trying to protect — I'm trying to save Medicaid.' Singing from the same hymnal: 'There are no Medicaid cuts in the 'big beautiful bill,' we're not cutting Medicaid. What we're doing is strengthening the program,' Speaker Mike Johnson said this morning on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'We're reducing fraud, waste and abuse … What we're doing here is an important and frankly heroic thing, to preserve the program so that it doesn't become insolvent.' One such change: Oz sees new work requirements as a crucial step in that quest. 'I don't have to get a job. I just have to try to get a job,' Oz says. 'I can volunteer, or some other charitable endeavor. I go get an education or I can take care of someone in the household that needs me — a child. If you're willing to do any of those things, you can keep your health insurance.' Watch the full episode on YouTube: The criticism: On 'Meet the Press,' Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) pushed back on that framing. 'I recently released a study in Georgia that shows that this work-reporting requirement — because that's what we're talking about: not work requirement, [a] work-reporting requirement — is very good at kicking people off of their health care,' Warnock said. 'It's not good at incentivizing work at all. There's something wrong here about this kind of view of poor people, of working-class people that somehow they don't want to go to work. We have seen this failed experiment in Georgia.' As some advocates raise concerns about the administrative effort that will result from the requirement — the paperwork, the processing, the verification — and the likelihood that will mean some Medicaid recipients will lose coverage at least for a time, Oz says CMS has the resources right now to handle that new workload. How Oz sees it: 'This is where I do think we have an obligation, all of us in government, to do a better job,' Oz says. 'If the reason not to do something that we all think we should do is we don't think we're capable or competent to do it, that's a problem.' As for the criticism directed his way … Oz says he can take it. 'At this point in my life, I'm mostly a thick skin with some hair on top.' Like and subscribe to 'The Conversation' on YouTube … or listen to the podcast SUNDAY BEST … — OMB Director Russ Vought on impoundment, on CNN's 'State of the Union': 'We're certainly not taking impoundment off the table. We're not in love with the law. It's a law that came after 200 years of precedent and history at the lowest moment of the executive branch. 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Elizabeth Glidden … Alex Seitz-Wald … POLITICO's Rahul Sharma Rampa … Alex Stoddard … Dan Bartlett of Walmart Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Packers Superstar Xavier McKinney Weighs In On Ongoing Jaire Alexander Saga
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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
GOP Sen. Joni Ernst gives mock apology to lefty critics for acknowledging everyone dies
Iowa GOP Sen. Joni Ernst has delivered a backhanded apology for acknowledging everyone dies during a town hall that included frustration over Trump Medicaid reforms. Ernst sparked controversy when she fielded a question about the Medicaid provisions in the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act and a heckler jeered that 'people will die!' during the gathering Friday in Parkersburg, Iowa. Ernst fired back in now-viral footage, 'People are not — well, we all are going to die. For heaven's sakes, folks.' Advertisement 3 Sen. Joni Ernst has been a staunch proponent of reining in government spending. Instagram/@Joni Ernst On Saturday, the Hawkeye State Republican followed up by posting a video on Instagram of her giving a mock apology. 'I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall,' she said, initially sounding serious. 'A woman who was extremely distraught screamed out from the back corner of the auditorium, 'People are going to die!' ' Advertisement 3 The Iowa senator defended the Medicaid reforms that Republicans are eyeing. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images 'And I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth,' she went on. 'So I apologize, and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy as well. 'But for those that would like to see eternal and everlasting life, I encourage you to embrace my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.' Ernst also ripped into the 'hysteria that's out there coming from the left' over the blowback to her comments about death. Advertisement The proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cleared the House last month and now heads to the Senate this week for consideration, features multiple Medicaid reform provisions, including work requirements. Medicaid, a federal health insurance program for low-income Americans, is distinct from Medicare, which is federal health insurance for the elderly. 3 Medicaid reforms have emerged as one of the key flashpoints in attempts to pass the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Getty Images for Caring Across Generations The mega-bill would require able-bodied individuals to work or volunteer for multiple hours each month to receive Medicaid benefits. Advertisement Overall, the suite of reforms could lead to 7.6 million people losing benefits and saving $723 billion more than a decade, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate. That's the bulk of the more than $1.5 trillion spending cuts in the massive bill. But the provision has drawn grumblings from several Republican senators such as Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), though it is not fully clear whether they will vote for it. The mammoth piece of legislation also imposes work requirements on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and makes other reforms to food stamps. Proponents argue that those measures are needed to root out waste and fraud. 'What you don't want to do is listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable,' Ernst said, insisting the changes will protect those in most need. 'Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, we will protect. We will protect them. Medicaid is extremely important here in the state of Iowa. If you don't want to listen, that's fine,' she said.
