Election rally clip misrepresented as Philippine VP helping flood victims

Published on August 6, 2025 at 10:29
4 min read
By Lucille SODIPE, AFP Philippines

Old footage of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte in the lead-up to the archipelago's mid-term vote has been falsely shared online as her doling out aid to those affected by recent floods. Multiple reports indicate Duterte was not in the Philippines when July monsoon rains and a series of storms inundated parts of the country.

"Vice President Sara Duterte does not mind braving the heavy rains as long as she can bring help to the people affected by the floods and the storm," reads the Tagalog-language caption to a Facebook Reel shared July 23, 2025.

The video, viewed over 300,000 times, shows Duterte at the foreground swarmed by supporters in the rain.

Screenshot of the false post, taken on August 6, 2025 with a red X added by AFP

The video, also posted on TikTok, was shared after days of monsoon rains and three successive tropical storms flooded parts of the country, left at least 40 people dead, and forced thousands from their homes (archived here, here and here).

According to a timeline by the Philippine's disaster agency, the "combined effects" of the southwest monsoon and storms could be felt from July 15 to July 26.

However, the vice president was out of the country during this period.

Duterte was at The Hague in Netherlands from July 6 to July 23, according to multiple news reports published by local media (archived here, here and here).

She was visiting her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained at the International Criminal Court on a crimes against humanity charge tied to his deadly anti-narcotics campaign.

The vice president can be seen consistently granting interviews outside the detention centre on different days while she was in the European country (archived here and here).

Her next recorded public appearance was on July 27, when she visited the Filipino community in Seoul (archived link).

While Duterte's office conducted relief operations in July, she is not pictured in any of the images shared on the Office of the Vice President’s official Facebook page (archived link).

Election campaign

Keyword searches on Facebook found the falsely shared clip corresponds to footage shared May 5, 2025 in a page called "Engr. Berto" (archived link).

"What a warm welcome in Isabela City, Basilan for VP Inday and Sen Imee," reads its Tagalog caption, using the vice president's nickname and referring to her ally, Senator Imee Marcos.

According to social media posts shared by her political allies, Duterte was in southern Basilan province on May 4, a week before the Philippine mid-term elections, to help candidates campaign in the area (archived here, here and here).

The shirt that Duterte was wearing that day -- with her surname printed at the back in green text -- as well as her hair accessory, matches what she is wearing in the falsely shared clip.

Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and Facebook video posted in May 2025, with similarities highlighted by AFP

Another clip of the campaign rally shared on pro-Duterte Facebook page "Sara Region VI" on May 4, shows a different angle of the footage in the false posts. A person wearing a blue and white cap can be seen near the vice president (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and Facebook video posted in May 2025, with similarities highlighted by AFP

AFP has debunked more misinformation related to Duterte here, here and here.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail