Video shows Philippine airline's advert on Burj Khalifa, not light show in support of Vice President Sara Duterte
- Published on December 3, 2024 at 03:34
- 3 min read
- By Jan Cuyco, AFP Philippines
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"Featuring Inday Sarah of Davao in the World Iconic Burj Khlifa (sic) in Dubai," reads superimposed text on a TikTok video shared on November 25, 2024.
The video, which was viewed more than 130,000 times, shows a light display on the world's tallest building featuring the word "Davao" -- the southern Philippine city that is a stronghold for the Duterte family -- and a figure dressed in red clothing.
It was shared on the same day the Philippines justice department labelled Duterte the "mastermind" of a plot to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos, as it issued a subpoena demanding she appear at a formal inquiry (archived link).
Duterte was asked to explain herself after a blistering press conference where she said she had instructed Marcos be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed.
The vice president did not show up to the meeting with government investigators on November 29 (archived link).
The Marcos-Duterte alliance swept to power in 2022, but has collapsed spectacularly in the lead-up to mid-term elections in 2025, with both sides trading allegations of drug addiction.
The same clip was also shared on Facebook here, here and here.
Comments on the posts suggest some users believed the light show was held in support of the vice president.
"Even international (sic) they support VP Sara," one user wrote.
Another wrote: "I'm getting goosebumps myself with the support I'm seeing for Inday Sara."
The light show, however, was part of an advertising campaign for a Philippine airline -- not a show of support for the vice president.
Philippine tourism advert
A reverse image search on Google led to the same photo on a Facebook page belonging to a Philippines-based user, whose post said it was part of an advertisement campaign for local airline Cebu Pacific.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the original photo on Facebook (right):
Cebu Pacific's verified Facebook page shared a similar video of the light show on November 23 (archived link).
Davao is highlighted at the livestream's 21:56 mark.
The video is titled, "Fly to Happy Philippines on the Burj Khalifa".
Its description added: "We're putting the best of the Philippines on the global tourism map! Share the news as we light up the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world."
Vice President Duterte is neither mentioned in the airline's 31-minute video nor shown on the Burj Khalifa.
A representative from Emaar, the property developer that built the Burj Khalifa, told AFP on November 29 that the video shows an advert by Cebu Pacific.
Erwin Colcol, corporate communications manager of Cebu Pacific, also said on November 28 that the figure in the display was not Duterte.
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