Video shows Duterte greeting supporters in Hong Kong, not Netherlands

Published on March 19, 2025 at 10:17
3 min read
By Jan Cuyco, AFP Philippines

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has not made any public appearances since his arrest and transfer to The Hague, where he remained in detention as of March 19, 2025. False posts claiming he was seen greeting his supporters in the Netherlands misrepresent footage from an earlier visit to Hong Kong.

"Update on Duterte. He is so happy to see his supporters in The Netherlands, before he was taken to the hospital," reads the caption and text over a TikTok video shared March 13.

The clip, which garnered more than 250,000 views, appears to show Duterte looking out of a window and waving at a crowd gathered on the street below.

Several other pro-Duterte TikTok users reshared the video alongside similar claims.

Screenshot of the false TikTok video taken March 19, 2025

Duterte was arrested at the Manila airport on March 11 after a brief trip to Hong Kong. He was quickly flown to the Netherlands just hours later and turned over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) (archived link).

The 79-year-old, the first Asian former head of state charged by the ICC, stands accused of the crime against humanity of murder for his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups have said killed thousands.

He failed to attend an initial hearing at the ICC in person and spoke briefly through a videolink to confirm his name and date of birth. The tribunal has set the next hearing to confirm his charges on September 23 (archived link).

AFP could find no official reports that Duterte has engaged with his supporters while detained in The Hague -- and the circulating video was taken in Hong Kong the weekend before his arrest.

Footage from Hong Kong

Keyword searches found the video spread on Facebook on March 9 -- two days before Duterte's transfer to The Hague (archived link).

"ATM: OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) in Hong Kong warmly welcome FPRRD (Former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) and are waiting for him outside the Southorn Stadium," the caption reads.

Screenshot comparison of the false video (L) and the March 9 clip

Another video on TikTok shows a slightly different angle of the former Philippine president (archived link).

Chinese-language text in the clip corresponds to signage on a Hong Kong tram promoting a museum for footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (archived here and here).

Screenshot comparison of the false video (L) and a photo of the Hong Kong tram from Flickr, with elements highlighted by AFP

AFP confirmed the location of the footage by comparing it with Google Maps Street View imagery of the Southorn Stadium area in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the false video (L) and Google Maps Street View outside the Southorn Stadium

Duterte's PDP Laban party published several similar photos from the Hong Kong event (archived link).

AFP has debunked a spate of misinformation related to Duterte's arrest here.

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