CLAIM: Pope Francis admired former president Rodrigo Duterte and endorsed his administration’s drug war.
RATING: FALSE
False claims of Pope Francis’ supposed endorsement of former president Rodrigo Duterte remained on social media, potentially spreading anew with the pontiff’s passing on April 21 and the latter’s detention by the International Criminal Court.
PressOne.PH spotted a TikTok user, posting on March 31 a recycled fabricated quote that first surfaced during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The fake quote read: “I was amazed by the fact that a politician who is aiming at the highest position could be this honest. It was a first encounter for me to see a politician being honest about his concern for his country other than kissing my hands for the sole purpose of getting the support of the majority of the Catholic population… there’s no need for an apology [sic]. I admire his honesty.”
Another version of the card was simultaneously posted by several accounts on the platform on Nov. 5-8 last year. Recent reposts began on March 26.
The quotes were framed as the pontiff’s response, allegedly “forgiving” Duterte for cursing at him for causing a traffic jam during his papal visit in 2015.
The Vatican has never published any transcript of any supposed statement made by the Pope addressing the controversial tirade.
Read the full story on Fact Checked by PressOnePH.