After ex-Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte was handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, an image was shared in Chinese posts that falsely claimed it showed local troops warning they would “lead an attack on Manila” if the China-friendly former president failed to return. There have been no reports of Philippine soldiers threatening violence in the country in the wake of the former president’s arrest, and the image used in the false posts has circulated since October 2017, when Duterte was still president.
“Armed forces in Davao City threaten pro-US Marcos that if Duterte fails to return from the Netherlands, they will lead an attack on Manila,” reads the simplified Chinese caption to an image shared on Douyin on March 13, 2025.
Duterte served as mayor of Davao prior to becoming president, and the city remains a family stronghold.
The image of dozens of soldiers dressed in combat gear standing in front of a stage was shared after the 79-year-old’s shocking arrest and swift transfer to The Hague (archived link).
The former president faces a crimes against humanity charge for his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups said killed thousands.
The same image was shared in several other Douyin posts, while a similar claim was posted alongside a different photo on Weibo.
“In Davao City, Duterte’s home base, the armed forces issued a statement that it would slaughter the Marcos family and attack all US bases in the Philippines if Duterte meets an untimely demise at the tribunal of The Hague,” reads the post, also shared on March 13.
Duterte’s arrest came amid a bitter feud with his successor and once-ally President Ferdinand Marcos, who has been highlighting the administrations’ different approaches to dealing with China during campaign rallies ahead of crucial mid-term elections in May (archived here and here).
Marcos is widely seen as having aggressively pushed back against Chinese claims in the resource-rich South China Sea, a change from Duterte’s cozier relationship with Beijing.
Duterte’s tenure was marked by a swing away from the nation’s former colonial master, the United States, in favor of China, setting aside rivalry with Beijing and opting to court Chinese business instead.
China has said it is closely monitoring Duterte’s arrest and has warned the ICC against “politicization” and “double standards” (archived link).
While Duterte’s arrest sparked protests across the archipelago, there have been no official reports as of March 21 of Philippine troops issuing warnings to the Marcos administration (archived link).
The Philippine armed forces have separately described reports of military resignations in support of Duterte as “unverified”, and urged “everyone to exercise critical discernment and avoid spreading unconfirmed information” (archived link).
Spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said on March 13 the armed forces remain a “professional, unified, and non-partisan institution, committed to its constitutional mandate of defending the nation and serving the Filipino people”.
Read the full story on AFP Fact Check.