Fact-check: No, India did not declare holiday for Duterte visit

MANILA, Philippines – India did not declare a holiday just because President Rodrigo Duterte visited that country.

This was revealed upon fact-checking of Agence France-Press (AFP), debunking a circulating Facebook post that claimed “India declared a holiday in honor of a visit from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.”

According to the French news agency, “India did celebrate a national holiday during Duterte’s January 2018 visit, but it is an annual event to honor the nation’s constitution.”

India Republic Day is celebrated every January 26 to commemorate the day India’s new constitution came into effect in 1950, AFP noted.

https://www.facebook.com/100003970690460/posts/1405037049638638/

AFP said the “misleading post” has been shared over 23,000 times since it was published on January 27. The post contains photos of Duterte alighting from a car with large crowds of people in the background.

“Hindi lang #RedCarpet kundi may #StreetParty party at #GinawangHoliday ng #India and kanyang #Pagbisita,” the deceptive post stated.

But a reverse-image search of the photos revealed its original was posted on the website of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), AFP said.

Those photos, AFP added, were taken during Duterte’s trip to India, where he was among 10 southeast Asian leaders who attended the Asean summit from January 25-26, 2018. /kga