FACT CHECK: Video of 2024 Cebu concert misrepresented as Duterte rally crowd 

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The video, which claims to be from the February 2025 indignation rally staged by Duterte supporters, is actually from the 2024 Planetshakers concert in Cebu

Claim: An aerial video shows a massive crowd attending the indignation rally organized by members of the Hakbang ng Maisug in Cebu to decry Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A pro-Duterte Facebook page named “Hadji Jannah,” with 92,000 followers, posted the 26-second video of an alleged aerial view of the “indignation” rally held in Mandaue City, Cebu. The video includes the text “Duterte pa rin sa Cebu!” with the background song, “Pilipinas Duterte pa rin.”

As of writing, the video has garnered 706,000 views and 14,400 reactions.

Multiple accounts and pages also reposted a screenshot of the post, which is still circulating online.

The facts: An aerial photo of the February 22 rally differs from what is shown in the video. A reverse image search on a screenshot of the posted video revealed that the video originated from the Planetshakers concert in Cebu last February 23, 2024. The 57-second video showing concertgoers of the worship music band was originally posted by the Facebook page Cebu ni bai.

Additionally, the concert was held at SM Seaside Cebu Concert Grounds. Duterte’s rally, meanwhile, was at Pasilong sa Paradise in Mandaue City.

‘Indignation’ rally: The Mandaue rally was organized by Hakbang ng Maisug, a group of pro-Duterte vloggers and supporters, to denounce various issues, including the impeachment of the Vice President.

While not billed as a campaign rally, local bets received the endorsement of former president Rodrigo Duterte who campaigned and asked the supporters to vote for the chosen candidates. 

Duterte also took a swipe at his successor, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying the latter was “veering towards dictatorship.”

Crowd count: According to a Facebook statement from the Mandaue City Police Office, the crowd count at the indignation rally was “more or less 3,000-4,000.”

However, organizers disputed this figure, claiming that the crowd reached up to 40,000 and that this represents the total attendance throughout the program, with attendees arriving and leaving simultaneously.

The video circulated as multiple Facebook accounts and pages have been comparing crowd estimates from the rallies of Marcos and Duterte since the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections began. Rappler has previously debunked a claim that “Duterte!” chants were heard during a campaign rally for the administration’s senatorial slate. – Lyndee Buenagua/Rappler.com

Lyndee Buenagua is a third year student journalist and an alumna of Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024.

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