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Years in the making, Duterte’s arrest was ordered by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and carried out two days before Tantoco's death
Claim: The arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte was intended to cover up the Marcoses’ involvement in the death of Rustan Commercial Corporation (RCC) executive Paolo Tantoco.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, over 37,000 Facebook users shared the post, which also garnered 11,000 reactions and 1,900 comments.
The post was uploaded on March 11, the same day that Duterte was arrested over alleged crimes against humanity and two days after Tantoco’s death on March 9.
The post claims that Duterte was arrested to divert public attention away from the alleged involvement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Senate President Chiz Escudero, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez in Tantoco’s death.
The Facebook account Neilboi Dimagiba, boasting 543,000 followers, disseminated the false claims. Notably, the same account regularly posts and shares pro-Duterte content, consistently receiving high engagement.
The facts: Months before Duterte’s arrest and Tantoco’s death, there were already reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) would issue a warrant against the former president as a result of the years-long probe into his war on drugs. He is the first Asian former leader to be ordered arrested by the ICC. (TIMELINE: The International Criminal Court and Duterte’s bloody war on drugs)
The ICC probe covers crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war that killed close to 30,000 people, as well as the extrajudicial killings in Davao City when he was mayor.
Following Duterte’s arrest, false claims have spread on social media, including rumors that the First Lady was detained in connection with Tantoco’s death — a claim denied by Malacañang. Additionally, the misleading Facebook post provides no evidence to back up its claim, only mentioning unnamed and unverified “news sources.”
Duterte’s arrest: Following his arrest, Duterte was brought to The Hague, Netherlands, where he faced the court on March 14 for the first time. The confirmation of charges hearing will be held on September 23.
The arrest has drawn mixed reactions, with some welcoming the move while others condemned the arrest, slamming the Marcos administration and falsely claiming that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines because the country withdrew its membership in 2019. Many law experts, however, including retired ICC judge Raul Pangalanan, said that the arrest was done with prudence and according to the law. (READ: Duterte’s arrest was ‘by the book,’ within ICC’s liberal rules — experts)
Since 2016, Rappler has been covering the bloody war on drugs and the extrajudicial killings perpetrated under the Duterte administration. (READ: Still confused? Answering the most common questions about Duterte’s ICC arrest). – Reinnard Balonzo/Rappler.com
Reinnard Balonzo is a senior journalism student at Bicol University-College of Arts and Letters. A 2024 Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship graduate of Rappler in 2024, he is also chairperson of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Bicol.
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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