Footage of Philippines' Marcos altered to add chants for ex-president Duterte

A video of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos at a national sports event viewed hundreds of thousands of times was altered to add the sound of people chanting the name of former president Rodrigo Duterte. The original audio is from an earlier gathering of Filipinos at a stadium in Hong Kong. The TikTok user who filmed the stadium footage told AFP he heard "no such shouting" at the event.

Harry Roque, a former Philippine presidential spokesman from the Duterte administration, shared the video on July 13 which showed President Ferdinand Marcos's arrival at the "Palarong Pambansa (National Games)" opening on July 9 in the central Philippines.

The post, which mocks Marcos, contained superimposed text that read "The people's cry is 'Duterte.' HAHAHA where does that leave you"

In the clip, "Duterte, Duterte" chants can be heard as Marcos waves at the crowd.

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Screenshot of video with altered audio, taken on July 16, 2024

The video alongside a similar false claim has circulated on TikTok since July 12 where it has been viewed more than 270,000 times. It was also reposted on the short-form video platform here, here, and here; and on Facebook here

The clip made rounds on social media as the tense relations between the Dutertes and the Marcoses turned into a public rift, a far cry from 2022 when they teamed up to a landslide victory in the elections.

Vice President Sara Duterte said on July 11 that she will skip the president's State of the Nation Address in July (archived link).

She resigned from the cabinet and left her post as education secretary in June, giving no clear reason for her move. 

Social media users commenting on Harry Roque's post appeared to believe the video was genuine. 

"This only proves that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is still the favoured and trusted one by ordinary citizens and most Filipinos," one wrote. 

"This shows the youth's lack of respect…the youth's problem is they've learned how to be rude because of their idol Digong," another said, using Duterte's moniker. 

But the clip's audio was lifted from another video.

No chants

Multiple keyword searches on TikTok found this video posted on July 9 by the account @jev_patalinghug (archived link).

"PBBM arrival during the Palarong Pambansa opening 2024 in Cebu," read overlaid text on the clip, referring to Marcos by the abbreviated nickname "PBBM" -- President "Bongbong" Marcos. 

In the original footage, only music and some shrieking voices can be heard, not a crowd chanting Duterte's name.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the altered video (left) and the original clip (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the clip with altered audio (left) and the original (right)

TikTok account holderJev Patalinghug told AFP on July 16 that the audio in the circulating posts had been altered from his original video (archived link). 

"The video posted by other users is edited. There was no such shouting during the opening of the National Games," he said.

Patalinghug added, "I posted raw footage so whatever's heard there is what's legitimate."

Unrelated audio

A review of the sound used in the TikTok video that circulated since July 12 traced the audio back to a video published by SMNI, a media outlet owned by Duterte's spiritual advisor Apollo Quiboloy (archived link). 

The footage, published on Facebook on June 30, was captioned with "Overseas Filipino Workers in Hong Kong, it's Duterte's name they're shouting" in Tagalog.

It shows a gathering of Duterte supporters chanting his name, encouraged by a Filipino vlogger, inside a stadium.

Below is a comparison of the video with the altered audio (left) and the SWNI clip (right):

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