FACT CHECK: TikTok Video Showing Duterte Endorsing Marcos As Preferred Successor Is False, Misleading

Claim: A video showing President Duterte supposedly endorsing presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as his successor was posted on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Marcos could emulate the governance of his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, should he become president, Duterte said in the video.

Rating: False, misleading

Facts:

Duterte made the statement about the former senator in February 2016 — two months before the presidential elections were held that year. During that time, Duterte was still Davao City mayor campaigning for the presidency.

In his visit at the Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte — known to be the bailiwick of the Marcoses — Duterte said that should he fail to solve the Philippines’ criminality and drug problem within three to six months — his most famous campaign promise — he would resign and give the presidency to the younger Marcos. The former senator was gunning for the vice presidency in 2016 and the was running mate of late senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. 

“Sabi nila masyadong ambitious ang timeline ko. As president at hindi ko kaya, walang maniwala sa akin, even if you give me 10 years of rule, hindi ko talaga kaya. Buti magsibat na lang [ako]. Kung hindi ko magawa ‘yan sa tatlong buwan, [kahit] bigyan mo ako ng sampung libong [taon] hindi ko talaga kaya. Bigay ko na lang kay Bongbong (They said my timeline was too ambitious. As president I cannot do it alone, no one will believe me, even if you give me 10 years of rule, I cannot do it. It’s better if I leave. If I can’t achieve it, even if you give me 10,000 years, I really can’t do it, it’s better if I give it to Bongbong),” Duterte said in the video. 

Duterte would eventually enjoy a landslide victory in the 2016 elections. Marcos, meanwhile, lost in the vice presidential race to then Camarines Sur 3^rd District Rep. Leni Robredo. The former senator later contested Robredo’s win and filed an election protest, but the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, upheld her 2016 election victory.

Fast forward to the 2022 elections, Marcos is now running as president with Duterte’s daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio as his running mate. But Duterte has repeatedly said that he has not chosen his preferred presidential candidate as of the moment. 

“Kung may ie-endorso ako, I may or may not but preferably I’d like to stay neutral. Ibig sabihin wala akong susuportahan na kandidato (It means I am not endorsing a candidate) unless—again having said it and I’ll say it again—there would be a compelling reason for me to go out and tell the people what it is. I’d like to bide my time,” Duterte maintained during an interview with Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar aired over state-run PTV on Friday, Feb. 25.

“However little that it may look for some people but in reality, it is really the interest of the people which is at stake, ‘yun mapipilitan ako maglabas (then I will be compelled to choose). Then maybe, just maybe, I will choose a candidate to support,” Duterte said.

Why it matters:

As of Monday, Feb. 28, the TikTok video posted by username @nestovillas has already garnered more than a million views, more than 100,000 likes and numerous comments  but could no longer be accessed on the video-sharing app. The video was also shared by users of other social media platforms, including Facebook.

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