Latest news with #Visayan-language
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Election 'letter' from Philippine bishops is fabricated
"Their moral authority will be lost if they continue to engage in political activity," reads a Visayan-language Facebook post shared May 9. It features screenshots of a document under the letterhead of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and with the signature of its president Cardinal Pablo David (archived link). "We humbly present the names of several individuals whose lives and aspirations we commend to the discernment of the faithful," reads the apparent "pastoral letter" to the nation's deeply Catholic population before listing the names of 12 Senate bets (archived link). Similar posts surfaced elsewhere on Facebook just before millions voted in a mid-term election largely defined by the explosive feud between President Ferdinand Marcos and impeached Vice President Sara Duterte (archived link). With 80 percent of precincts reporting, Senate candidates aligned with Duterte were on track to claim five of 12 seats up for grabs, an initial tally from the poll body released by local media ABS-CBN showed as of May 13 (archived link). The tally, if it holds, would give the vice president one more seat than predicted in nationwide polls -- a potentially crucial vote in a looming Senate impeachment trial tentatively scheduled for July. In a statement released on May 10, CBCP's secretary general Monsignor Bernardo Pantin said they do not endorse individual candidates (archived link). They instead provide "moral and social guidelines to help the faithful make informed choices." "If names of candidates are mentioned in supposed Church endorsements, consider them false or misleading," he added. A search of pastoral letters and statements on the CBCP website did not find the supposed document (archived here and here). The only pastoral letter so far signed by CBCP president David after he became cardinal in December 2024 was titled: "Is there still hope? CBCP pastoral letter calling on faithful to a pilgrimage of hope in Jubilee 2025" (archived here and here). It was issued February 2, 2025. Further review of CBCP documents from as far back as 1940 shows that statements related to elections did not contain any names of candidates (archived link). The circulating letter also bore several errors, misspelling "Bishops" in the CBCP's name as "Bischops" and identifying candidate Willie Revillame as "Willy" (archived link). AFP has debunked more election-related misinformation in the Philippines here.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Student event clip misrepresented as protest against Rodrigo Duterte's arrest
"Prayer Rally / Sultan Kudarat / We stand Tatay Digong," reads text over a TikTok video shared March 11, referring to a province in Mindanao and using Duterte's popular nickname. The video -- viewed over 50,000 times -- shows a crowd gathered in an open space, with some clad in white and green colours associated with the Duterte family. Several TikTok and Facebook posts also shared the video hours after Duterte was arrested in Manila on an International Criminal Court warrant tied to his brutal war on drugs (archived link). The 79-year-old faces a charge of "the crime against humanity of murder", according to the court, for the crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs. He was flown on a plane bound for The Hague in the Netherlands, where he will be taken to the court's detention unit. The former leader is still hugely popular among many in the Philippines who supported his quick-fix solutions to crime, and he remains a potent political force. Comments on the posts indicate many users believed the video was recent. "Thank you for your support, let's protect Father Digs (Duterte)," one says. Another user commented: "Count my family in." Local media covered protests supporting Duterte on the day of his arrest, but the video circulating online is unrelated (archived here and here). A reverse image search of keyframes on Google led to a Facebook video that regional radio station Bombo Radyo Koronadal posted February 25, 2025 (archived link). "LOOK: The current situation at the Sultan Kudarat Gymnasium, where participants of the 2025 Regional Schools Press Conference are gradually arriving," its Visayan-language caption reads. The state-run Philippine Information Agency of Sultan Kudarat posted a similar video the following day (archived link). The attendees' outfits and the white fence in the background match elements from the misrepresented clip. A memo on the official website for the region's Department of Education confirms the journalism event took place in the Mindanao province of Sultan Kudarat on February 25 (archived link). AFP also verified the location where Bombo Radyo's video was filmed using Google Maps (archived link). Posts falsely depicting crowds supporting Duterte and his family have swirled online for months, many of which AFP has debunked.
AFP
12-03-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Student event clip misrepresented as protest against Rodrigo Duterte's arrest
"Prayer Rally / Sultan Kudarat / We stand Tatay Digong," reads text over a TikTok video shared March 11, referring to a province in Mindanao and using Duterte's popular nickname. The video -- viewed over 50,000 times -- shows a crowd gathered in an open space, with some clad in white and green colours associated with the Duterte family. Image Screenshot of the false TikTok post taken March 12, 2025 Several TikTok and Facebook posts also shared the video hours after Duterte was arrested in Manila on an International Criminal Court warrant tied to his brutal war on drugs (archived link). The 79-year-old faces a charge of "the crime against humanity of murder", according to the court, for the crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs. He was flown on a plane bound for The Hague in the Netherlands, where he will be taken to the court's detention unit. The former leader is still hugely popular among many in the Philippines who supported his quick-fix solutions to crime, and he remains a potent political force. Comments on the posts indicate many users believed the video was recent. "Thank you for your support, let's protect Father Digs (Duterte)," one says. Another user commented: "Count my family in." Local media covered protests supporting Duterte on the day of his arrest, but the video circulating online is unrelated (archived here and here). Local journalism event A reverse image search of keyframes on Google led to a Facebook video that regional radio station Bombo Radyo Koronadal posted February 25, 2025 (archived link). "LOOK: The current situation at the Sultan Kudarat Gymnasium, where participants of the 2025 Regional Schools Press Conference are gradually arriving," its Visayan-language caption reads. Image Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the video from Bombo Radyo Koronadal The state-run Philippine Information Agency of Sultan Kudarat posted a similar video the following day (archived link). The attendees' outfits and the white fence in the background match elements from the misrepresented clip. A memo on the official website for the region's Department of Education confirms the journalism event took place in the Mindanao province of Sultan Kudarat on February 25 (archived link). AFP also verified the where Bombo Radyo's video was filmed using Google Maps (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the false TikTok video (L) and Google Maps Street View in front of the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Gymnasium Posts falsely depicting crowds supporting Duterte and his family have swirled online for months, many of which AFP has debunked.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Imposter govt website spreads fabricated poll ahead of Philippine midterm vote
"Survey result for 2025 gubernatorial race on Bukidnon, Philippines," reads the title of a graphic shared on Instagram on February 19, 2025. It appears to show Azucena Huervas, currently the mayor of the province's Valencia city, ahead of four rival candidates including incumbent Governor Rogelio Roque. "Good evening Bukidnon, this is a post from Radyo Pilipinas, an official survey," the Visayan-language caption to the graphic says, referring to the state-run radio station (archived link). The post links to website claiming to be Radyo Pilipinas News. Similar posts surfaced on Facebook as campaigning kicked off for the archipelago's Senate and candidates for so-called party-list seats. Electioneering will kick into higher gear in March when candidates for House seats and thousands of local positions launch their bids for office (archived link). Radyo Pilipinas, however, has disowned the circulating graphic and branded the supposed survey results as "fake" in a statement on Facebook on February 14 (archived link). "A deceitful article is spreading on Facebook, pretending to be from Radyo Pilipinas," the statement reads. "Do not be duped -- always verify information from official sources." The genuine URL of Radyo Pilipinas is but its imposter site is hosted on a .com page (archived link). The state radio also changed its logo in December 2024 but the bogus site still features the old one (archived link). The graphic also contains numerous errors, for example misspelling the nickname of Governor Roque "Oneil" as "Oniel" -- and his party "Partido Federal ng Pilipinas" as "Partido Rederal ng Pilipinas" (archived link). Azucena Huervas, who the fabricated poll claims is leading the race, separately denounced the circulating posts. "We do not condone misinformation of any kind," reads a statement on her official Facebook page on February 21 (archived link). AFP has previously debunked another fake survey that misused the name of local polling organisation.
AFP
27-02-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Imposter govt website spreads fabricated poll ahead of Philippine midterm vote
"Survey result for 2025 gubernatorial race on Bukidnon, Philippines," reads the title of a graphic shared on Instagram on February 19, 2025. It appears to show Azucena Huervas, currently the mayor of the province's Valencia city, ahead of four rival candidates including incumbent Governor Rogelio Roque. "Good evening Bukidnon, this is a post from Radyo Pilipinas, an official survey," the Visayan-language caption to the graphic says, referring to the state-run radio station (archived link). The post links to website claiming to be Radyo Pilipinas News. Image Screenshot of false Instagram post captured on February 24, 2025 Similar posts surfaced on Facebook as campaigning kicked off for the archipelago's Senate and candidates for so-called party-list seats. Electioneering will kick into higher gear in March when candidates for House seats and thousands of local positions launch their bids for office (archived link). 'Deceitful article' Radyo Pilipinas, however, has disowned the circulating graphic and branded the supposed survey results as "fake" in a statement on Facebook on February 14 (archived link). "A deceitful article is spreading on Facebook, pretending to be from Radyo Pilipinas," the statement reads. "Do not be duped -- always verify information from official sources." The genuine URL of Radyo Pilipinas is but its imposter site is hosted on a .com page (archived link). The state radio also changed its logo in December 2024 but the bogus site still features the old one (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the imposter site (L) and the official Radyo Pilipinas page The graphic also contains numerous errors, for example misspelling the nickname of Governor Roque "Oneil" as "Oniel" -- and his party "Partido Federal ng Pilipinas" as "Partido Rederal ng Pilipinas" (archived link). Azucena Huervas, who the fabricated poll claims is leading the race, separately denounced the circulating posts. "We do not condone misinformation of any kind," reads a on her official Facebook page AFP has previously debunked another fake survey that misused the name of local polling organisation.
