Manipulated news graphic misattributes quote targeting Philippine VP to lawmaker

"Congresswoman Bernadeth (sic) Barbers attacked VP Sara Duterte after the latter called President Bongbong Marcos 'insolent'," says part of the Tagalog-language caption of a Facebook graphic shared on June 12, 2026.

The graphic, which bears the logo of Philippine broadcaster News5, shows a quote from Vice President Sara Duterte and a purported response from Representative Bernadette Barbers.

"I want my fellow countrymen to see how insolent BBM is 'til the end," Duterte said, using President Ferdinand Marcos's initials. The vice president was responding to a journalist's question about calls to overthrow her former ally (archived link).

"The vice president, when she's not reading from a script, is uncouth. Her true colours come out," reads Barbers' purported response, in defence of Marcos.

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Screenshot of the altered graphic captured on June 17, 2026, with an orange X added by AFP

The same graphic was also shared in Facebook groups and pages based in the southern Philippines, from where both Duterte and Barbers hail.

A comment on one of the posts says: "So what if [Sara Duterte] is uncouth? At least she's not a thief like you."

"Barbers go away and migrate to Luzon," says another, referring to the main northern Philippine island.

Duterte and Marcos have been engaged in a high-stakes political brawl that exploded into open warfare in 2025 with her impeachment and the subsequent arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to face charges at the International Criminal Court at the Hague tied to his deadly drug war (archived link). 

The House of Representatives panel found probable cause to impeach the vice president for a second time in May, for misappropriating public funds, unexplained assets, bribery of public officials, and an alleged death threat against Marcos and other family members (archived here, here and here).

A Senate trial will begin in July; a conviction could end her 2028 presidential bid.

While Barbers was part of the House of Representatives panel, she did not issue a statement in response to Duterte's comments about Marcos.

Manipulated graphic

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches found the quote in response to Duterte's comments is legitimate, but did not come from Barbers.

A similar graphic was shared on News5's official Facebook page on June 12, which attributes the quote to Claire Castro of the Presidential Communications Office and uses her name and photo (archived link).

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Screenshot comparison of the altered graphic circulating on social media (L) and the original News5 graphic

Local media, including ABS-CBN, GMA News and Manila Standard, also quoted Castro as responding to the vice president (archived here, here and here). 

Castro also made a similar comment on her YouTube channel on the same day (archived link).

"I told you, when she does not have any script, her true colours come out. She is having a meltdown. This is never going to change," Castro said at the video's 32:43 mark.

A further analysis of the altered News5 graphic shows it was manipulated with the help of OpenAI tools.

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Screenshot of the result of Open AI's verification tool

Barbers denounced the spread of the altered image in a June 13 Facebook post, saying: "The deliberate alteration of news content and attribution of fabricated statements to public officials only serves to mislead the public and poison constructive discourse" (archived link).

The lawmaker was previously targeted by misinformation debunked by AFP after an impeachment complaint was filed against Duterte in February.