FACT CHECK: Did Queen Elizabeth Praise Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte In A Speech?

Jonathan Fonti | Fact Check Reporter

An image shared on Facebook claims Queen Elizabeth II praised Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in a televised speech on April 6.

Verdict: False

There is no record of the queen making the statement. The graphic has been digitally manipulated.

Fact Check:

Duterte received widespread criticism when he warned in early April that people could be shot for violating coronavirus lockdown measures in the Philippines. Now, a viral Facebook post alleges the queen praised Duterte’s efforts to curb the spread of the new coronavirus in an April 6 televised address.

“Pres. Duterte is the kind of leader who knows that way, goes the way, and shows the way. Filipinos are very fortunate to have him,” the post quotes the queen as saying. “Seriously, he looked so overworked. He may not be perfect, but he truly loves his country. Philippines doesn’t have the worst government. It actually has the worst citizens.”

The queen did make a rare televised speech thanking health care workers and vowing the U.K. “will succeed” in its efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic on April 5 – not April 6, as the post suggests. The transcript of the speech shows that the queen at no point mentioned Duterte or the Philippines, however.

Through a reverse image search, the Daily Caller discovered that the graphic being shared in misleading posts has been manipulated. Inquirer.net, a Philippine media website, published a graphic quoting part of the queen’s speech on its Facebook page. (RELATED: Did Buckingham Palace Confirm Queen Elizabeth Tested Positive For Coronavirus?)

“This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavor, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal,” the original quote in the graphic said. “We will succeed – and that success will belong to every one of us.”

The U.K. has reported over 115,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 15,000 deaths to date, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

Jonathan Fonti

Fact Check Reporter
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