Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte did not say Covid-19 vaccines were used for 'depopulation'

"It’s clearer than the sun that PRRD and Atty. Panelo said vaccines are for depopulation," reads a Tagalog-language Facebook post from July 28.

"PRRD" stands for President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, while Salvador Panelo is his chief legal counsel.

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A screenshot of the misleading post taken on July 30, 2021

The video shows Duterte saying, "We can sacrifice about 20, it becomes 80, so we’re not overpopulated."

Panelo is then heard saying, "They are not vaccinating everyone at once because they are like guinea pigs."

The video shows a man criticising Duterte, claiming: "What kind of a president would tell his people, the Filipinos, he could sacrifice and let 20 percent of them die due to the [Covid-19] vaccine?"

The post circulated online as the Philippines struggled to vaccinate its population amid tight global supplies and logistical challenges

The video was viewed more than 5,000 times in similar Facebook posts here and here.

Comments on the posts indicate some social media users were misled.

"Oh no, this makes me hesitant to get vaccinated now," one wrote.

However, these posts are false.

Pre-pandemic video

Multiple keyword searches found Duterte's remarks were taken from this speech he delivered in his hometown Davao City on July 21, 2017 -- almost three years before the World Health Organization declared the Covid-19 pandemic.

In his speech, Duterte said in a mix of Tagalog and English: "So to the enemies of the State. Number one is the Communist Party of the Philippines. No more talk. Let us fight.

"I'll save enough money for the arms, I'll buy the new ones, the precision guided missiles. And there's too many of us, 110 million. We can sacrifice about 20, it becomes 80. So we’re not overpopulated."

He made the remarks in reference to the ongoing armed conflict between the government and armed communist rebels -- not because of Covid-19 jabs.

 Misrepresented remarks

Further keyword searches found the video showing Panelo was taken from this YouTube post on March 23, 2021.

Nowhere in the video did Panelo say Covid-19 vaccines are tools for depopulation.

He was in fact responding to criticisms about slow vaccination progress in the country.

He said: "They are monitoring if there will be adverse effects on those who got jabbed. They are not vaccinating everyone at once because they are like guinea pigs.

"What if the side effects of the vaccine are severe? Should we still continue? That's why they are taking things slowly."

In response to the misleading posts, the chief of Duterte's communications operations told AFP the depopulation claims are "laughably ludicrous".

"There is no truth to circulating social media posts that the COVID-19 vaccines are being used by the Duterte administration to 'depopulate' the Philippines," Martin Andanar, presidential communications operations chief,  told AFP on August 3.