Former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte’s mayoral win on May 12, 2025 sparked baseless rumors among his supporters that he has been released from detention. The visuals shared in the posts were taken before the 80-year-old ex-president was flown to The Hague to face a crimes against humanity charge.
“So happy, welcome back home Father Digong,” says a Tagalog-language Facebook post on May 16, 2025, using Duterte’s popular nickname and sharing pictures of him on a flight.
Duterte’s supporters on Facebook shared similar posts days after he was re-elected mayor of his family stronghold Davao city in a landslide vote while in a cell in The Hague (archived link).
He was arrested at Manila’s international airport on March 11, 2025 and flown to the International Criminal Court to face charges tied to his crackdown on drugs that killed thousands (archived link).
His camp has said they would seek his interim release but AFP has not found any official notice on the tribunal’s website this had been granted as of May 21 (archived here and here).
Duterte’s communication has come sporadically and through surrogates, mainly his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte who was asked about Davao city possibly having an “absentee mayor” (archived link).
“Well definitely yes, he really isn’t here,” she said following Duterte’s mayoral win.
Moreover, the circulating visuals purportedly showing Duterte’s return home are misrepresented.
A reverse image search on Google found the ex-president’s photo on a commercial plane in a July 8, 2016 article from MindaNews (archived link).
Read the full story on AFP Fact Check.