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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: Poland recently delivered five S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to Davao in a show of trust for the Dutertes.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: Several videos with the claim have been circulating on YouTube, with the most popular one garnering 114,000 views, 8,200 likes, and 720 comments, as of writing.
The videos feature a screenshot of a post from the Facebook page named “Kitty Duterte,” self-described as an “unofficial page not manage[d] by Kitty herself.” The post shows photos of the Black Hawk helicopters posted by Inquirer.net and the caption: “The newly delivered 5 units of S-70i Black Hawk helicopters from Poland.”
Text over the screenshot reads: “Sa Davao na talaga sila may tiwala, nilalampasan na nila si BBM. Kabahan na kayo!” (It’s really Davao that they trust, they are bypassing BBM. Everyone should be afraid!)
Other videos bear similar text, with captions congratulating Davao or Vice President Sara Duterte. The posts imply that the helicopters are intended for Davao and that the delivery was made because of trust in Duterte’s leadership.
The facts: The misleading videos, while indeed depicting photos posted by Inquirer.net, omitted the media outlet’s caption stating that it was the Philippine Air Force (PAF) that received the helicopters.
On December 13, the PAF announced on its website and Facebook page that it recently welcomed the Black Hawk choppers at Clark Air Base in Pampanga, not in Davao as falsely claimed in the misleading videos.
“This delivery is part of the Additional Utility Helicopters Acquisition Project Agreement between the Department of National Defense (DND) of the Republic of the Philippines under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program and Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp (PZL Mielec) of Poland,” the PAF said, adding that the December 9 delivery was the second batch received this year.
In 2022, the Duterte administration made the deal to acquire 32 Black Hawk helicopters to boost the PAF’s fleet. The Air Force said the helicopters will be used for “search and rescue, medical evacuation, troop insertion and extrication, and other military operations.”
Duterte and the military: The false claims circulated amid the strained relationship between the Marcos administration and the Dutertes. Amid congressional investigations into a corruption scandal hounding the Vice President, her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, urged the military and police to intervene in what he described as a “fractured” government during a November 25 press conference.
Malacañang and other civil society groups have responded to Duterte’s call, emphasizing the importance of the military remaining impartial. (READ: The big shift: military prepares for external threat)
Rappler has also previously fact-checked a claim about the Armed Forces withdrawing support for the Marcos government.
Previous fact-checks: Rappler has debunked other claims about the Dutertes:
- FACT CHECK: No rally in New York opposing impeachment bids vs Sara Duterte
- FACT CHECK: Kim Jong-un didn’t comment on impeachment bid vs Sara Duterte
- FACT CHECK: COA flagged issues in OVP programs, spending
- FACT CHECK: Sara Duterte not cleared over alleged confidential funds misuse
- FACT CHECK: Impeachment bid vs VP Sara Duterte remains active
– Shay Du/Rappler.com
Shay Du is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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