Philippine news outlet did not report first lady 'detained in Los Angeles'

After former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and whisked to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face a crimes against humanity charge, social media users shared an edited news report saying the wife of his political rival, President Ferdinand Marcos, was detained in Los Angeles. The full segment was actually about the presidential palace refuting the rumours, which circulated online during first lady Liza Marcos's US trip in March 2025.

"This is news even in other countries / Liza Marcos detained / Confirmed," reads text over a TikTok video shared March 28 with hashtags mentioning ex-president Duterte. 

The beginning of the video shows a news anchor purportedly saying the Philippine first lady was "detained in Los Angeles" -- despite the report's chyron stating otherwise. 

The claim circulated elsewhere on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, racking up over 2,900 shares.

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Screenshot of the false TikTok post taken April 11, 2025

Duterte's arrest on March 11 and rapid handover to the ICC came on the heels of his family's bitter falling out with his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos (archived link).

Cracks began to appear in their alliance soon after Marcos teamed up with Sara Duterte, the ex-president's daughter, to sweep the presidential and vice presidential elections in May 2022.

Since then, a simmering feud has exploded into open warfare with the two political dynasties attacking each other publicly, including the elder Duterte labelling Marcos a drug addict.

Comments on the post suggest users believed the claim about first lady Marcos.

"True she is detained in US," one user said.

Another wrote: "This is good news for Filipinos".

But the video has been edited, and there are no official reports that the first lady was detained in the United States.  

Using Google reverse image search, AFP found the posts share a manipulated version of a news report from Philippine news outlet ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC). 

ANC uploaded the clip to its verified YouTube channel on March 13, 2025 (archived link). 

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the ANC news report on YouTube

Contrary to the posts' claims, the anchor reported the presidential palace's statement dismissing online rumours of Marcos's detainment.

“Malacañang, meanwhile, refuting social media posts claiming First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos has been detained in Los Angeles in the US," the anchor said.

The palace on March 13 dismissed claims that Marcos was held up by US law enforcement, according to other local media reports (archived links here, here and here).

Marcos's verified Facebook page posted on March 11 a video of her public appearances in Los Angeles during her US trip from March 5-8 (archived link).

Philippine news outlet Inquirer.net also reported from the United States on Marcos's attendance at the Manila International Film Festival in the state of California (archived link).

AFP has fact-checked other false posts targeting Marcos after Duterte's arrest.