This graphic has been doctored from a social media post by Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN

This article is more than one year old.
Published on May 7, 2020 at 10:00
3 min read
By AFP Philippines

A graphic attributed to the Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN has been shared repeatedly in multiple Facebook posts alongside a claim that it features a genuine quote by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The purported quote suggests Philippine migrant workers abroad should “stop complaining” about increased health insurance contributions and “just obey”. The claim is false; the graphic has been doctored from an earlier tweet posted by ABS-CBN; in response to the misleading posts, the Philippine broadcaster described the manipulated graphic as “fake".

The graphic, which includes a logo for ABS-CBN, purportedly quoting Philippine President Duterte was published here on Facebook on May 3, 2020.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:

Screenshot of Facebook post

The quote overlaid on the graphic, written in a mix of Tagalog and English, reads: "The recent increase in the contribution rate of Philhealth is JUST and FAIR. You OFWs especially my supporters, do not ever complain, just obey. If you do not want to obey, come back to the Philippines so you pay less. / PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE / On the implemented increase of rate of contribution for PhilHealth coverage / May 2, 2020”.

The post’s caption translates to English as: “Just OBEY YOU DDS OFWs”.

PhilHealth is the name of the national health insurance program in the Philippines.

“DDS” and “OFW” are acronyms for “diehard Duterte supporters” and “Overseas Filipino Workers”, a term used to refer to Filipino migrant workers abroad.

The posts were published shortly after PhilHealth announced here on April 22, 2020 that mandatory health insurance contributions from migrant workers overseas would increase to 3% of their monthly salary. The announcement was met with much criticism from migrant groups, labour unions and politicians, as well as this online petition calling for a recall of the order.

The graphic was also shared here and here on Facebook alongside a similar claim.

The claim is false. “ABS-CBN News did not publish a graphic on this supposed ‘statement’ of President Rodrigo Duterte,” the news outlet said in this tweet published on its official Twitter account on May 3, 2020.

Below is a screenshot of the ABS-CBN tweet, which shows the graphic in the misleading posts overlaid with a “FAKE” stamp:

Screenshot of statement

AFP located the original ABS-CBN graphic here on its Twitter page, which quotes Duterte saying in a mix of English and Tagalog: “To my brothers and sisters, especially those who have more in life, maybe you can help in extending financial assistance. If you don't really need it and you know that there is someone who is hungry, just help.”

President Rodrigo Duterte appealed to those "who have more in life" to financially help people affected by the #COVID19 crisis in the country. pic.twitter.com/dFfir9Lz1F
— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) April 6, 2020

Below is a screenshot of the original ABS-CBN graphic:

Screenshot of ABS-CBN graphic

The Philippine Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) also refuted the claim here on its Facebook page on May 3, 2020, labelling the graphic “FAKE NEWS”.

Below is a screenshot of the Facebook post:

Screenshot of PCOO statement

The Philippine government has since announced a suspension of mandatory PhilHealth contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this statement issued on the PCOO website on May 4, 2020, the presidential palace says Duterte has ruled “payment for PhilHealth premiums voluntary for OFWs”, so that migrant workers “no longer have to worry” about paying contributions "at this time of health crisis brought by the coronavirus disease 2019”.

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