Did the Netherlands beat the Philippines on the fake news about President Rodrigo Duterte being in a coma?
For Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, the answer is yes as fake reports of President Duterte in a state of deep unconsciousness reportedly spread like wildfire from the Netherlands.
“Akala ko number one ang Philippines sa fake news, talo na tayo ng Netherlands,” Sotto told reporters in a Viber message on Monday.
“We can’t issue bulletins and reactions to every fake news that bad people put out. Sabagay, usually mga miserable people with miserable lives create fake news,” he added.
The Senate leader was reacting to Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison’s Facebook post about reports of Duterte being in a state of coma since Sunday.
Sison has been on self-exile in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
READ: Lorenzana to Sison: Come back and you will end up in jail
Palace officials quickly denied Sison’s allegation.
“Nasa kama lang nag-rest, kausap ko pa 2:00 a.m. kaninang madaling araw si PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte],” Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go said earlier.
(He’s just in bed resting, I spoke with him at 2:00 a.m.)
“Baka nanaginip lang si Joma then napalitan lang ni Joma ng letter C ang pangalan niya. Siya pala ‘yun,” Go said in jest.
(Maybe Joma was just dreaming and he put C in Joma instead of his name. It was just him after all.) /vvp
READ: Duterte in ‘kama’ not ‘coma’ – Bong Go