False claims Rodrigo Duterte 'won US anti-corruption award' stem from parody news site

"Philippines President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was recognized by the US Department of State as one of its 12 International Anti-Corruption Champions for demonstrating leadership, courage, and impact in preventing, exposing, and combatting corruption," reads part of a Facebook post shared on February 24, 2025.

It includes a picture of the Southeast Asian nation's former leader.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on March 5, 2025

The post surfaced as campaigning for mid-term elections in the Philippines kicked off, with the political future of Duterte's daughter in the balance (archived link).

The House of Representatives impeached Vice President Sara Duterte in early February following the spectacular implosion of the fragile alliance between her family and that of President Ferdinand Marcos.

An impeachment trial, on charges that could see her barred from office, will be held in the Senate where a dozen open seats are up for grabs in the May vote.

Similar claims the ex-president received an award for fighting corruption were also shared on Facebook, including in a pro-Duterte group with over 150,000 members, as well as on Instagram.

"PRRD the best Philippine president. Nobody can put a good man down!" read one comment on the posts, using initials for the former leader.

Another read: "Congratulations! We need to be led by another Duterte -- VP Sara Z. Duterte."

But the former president has not been recognised by the US State Department as an international anti-corruption champion, as the posts claim.

'Parody news entity'

Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched the International Anti-Corruption Champions Award in 2021, and Duterte does not appear in the lists of champions for 2022, 2023 or 2024 (archived here, here, here and here).

The only awardee from the Philippines is Mayor Victor Sotto of the Pasig City suburb of the capital Manila, who was recognised in 2021 (archived here and here).

Sotto was described as "a standard-bearer for a new generation of Philippine politicians who prioritize anticorruption and transparency initiatives in their election campaigns and in office".

Text at the bottom of the circulating picture reads "CDN STRICAL", indicating it is from "Cebu Dairy News" which parodies local media organisation CDN Digital (archived here and here).

In their X bio, Cebu Dairy News describes itself as: "Cebu's leading satire/spoof/parody news entity."

AFP has previously debunked posts misrepresenting content from Cebu Dairy News.

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Screenshot comparison of the text on the falsely shared image (left) and Cebu Dairy News' corresponding logo (right)

Philippine news organisations Rappler and Vera Files debunked claims the post was genuine news when it circulated in October 2021 (archived here and here).

AFP has debunked other false claims swirling around the upcoming Philippine elections.