THE DEFENSE department on Monday dismissed as “fake” a video released by ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s allies at a rally in the United States showing what looked like a younger President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. sniffing something inside a rest room.
The video was an attempt to destabilize the Marcos government, Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. said in a statement.
The propagandists seek to escape Philippine criminal justice by releasing the “contrived” video outside the country, he added. “We urge the proper US authorities to investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of this disgusting act.”
Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos, Jr. ordered the Philippine National Police to form a task force to investigate the supposed deepfake. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
