No, Philippine Senator Franklin Drilon was not killed in an ambush in Iloilo City
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 15, 2018 at 09:00
- 1 min read
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
A website claims that Drilon, an opposition senator critical of President Rodrigo Duterte, was killed in his central Philippines hometown of Iloilo City.
The report appears with the following image on Facebook:
Whilst the man shown on the right is Drilon, the photo of the man on the left is not him.
A Reverse Image Search found that the picture on the left first appeared in this October 2nd report.
It shows Mayor Alexander Buquing, who was shot dead in the Northern Philippines.
The false Drilon death report also includes this photo montage:
The image of the black pick-up truck on the right is a screengrab from a report by Philippine broadcaster GMA on the killing of Buquing. It comes four seconds into the video.
Drilon's media officer Jeeno Arellano told AFP on October 10 that the senator is still alive.
"No, it is not true. He is in his office right now," Arellano said.
An Iloilo City police official said the local authorities had no reports of Drilon being killed.
"I ask from all stations we have in the city, but we have no report of that incident," Police Senior Superintendent Martin Echavez Jr. told AFP on October 10.
The Philippines is known for a violent political culture that includes the slaying of rivals and their supporters.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
