FACT-CHECK: Sara Duterte has not named Marcoleta as running mate

CLAIM: Sen. Rodante Marcoleta was chosen by Vice President Sara Duterte as her running mate for the 2028 presidential elections.

RATING: FALSE

A YouTube video falsely claimed that Vice President Sara Duterte had publicly named Sen. Rodante Marcoleta as her running mate for the 2028 national elections. 

Flagged content: The video uploaded by channel POLITICAL PH TV on Feb. 20 was titled “SAWAKS! C0NF1RM NA! SARA AND MARC0LETA 0F1C1AL TANDEM SA 2028!” (Finally! It has been confirmed! Sara and Marcoleta official tandem in 2028!).

• The thumbnail contained the text “CONFR1M NA! SARA AND MARCOLETA OFF1CIAL TAN-DEM” and “SAWAKAS!” (It has been confirmed! Sara and Marcoleta official tandem! Finally!).
• Its title used deliberate typographical errors in a likely attempt to avoid YouTube’s security measures.

The thumbnail featured images of Marcoleta and Duterte edited to appear to be smiling, images of  President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Palace press officer Claire Castro and Sen. Imee Marcos manipulated to have exaggerated expressions, and an unedited photo of Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

• Analysis from AI-detection tool ZeroGPT confirmed that the images of the personalities were 97% likely to be AI generated.
• At the center of the thumbnail was another manipulated photo of Marcoleta and Duterte shaking hands.
• The original image, taken from a September 2025 senate photo release when the vice president paid a courtesy visit to the senator, did not show them shaking hands.

Our debunk: Since announcing her plans to run for president, Duterte has not made statements on who would be running as her vice president.

• In a Feb. 21 interview on SMNI, Duterte refused to name the person she had chosen as running mate. 
• Unless officially announced by Duterte, the Duterte-Marcoleta tandem is not official and is simply endorsed by political parties like Partido Reporma. 

Rewind: On Sept. 17, 2025, the vice president met with senators who were part of the “Duterte bloc,” including Marcoleta.

• While the meeting was known to the public, Duterte did not disclose what they talked about.
• In a Facebook post, Marcoleta shared the vice president had “expressed her continued support and confidence” in him. 
• Since then, the Duterte-Marcoleta ticket has been floated by Duterte-adjacent political groups and pro-Duterte social media channels flagged for publishing false information online.

Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, the video has gained 32,701 views and over 3,400 likes. 

• Similar claims have also been circulating on other social media platforms, generating considerable support.
• The same graphic used in the video has also been posted on Facebook by PH Celebrity Pulse. The post has already garnered 29,000 reactions, 7,500 comments, and 1,200 shares.

Spot the fake: News relating to the 2028 national elections, despite being two years away, generate coverage from reliable media sources. Check for reports from these news outlets.

• Being elected officials, actions by Duterte and Marcoleta are likely to be published as news. Verify information about them by looking for reports from trusted media organizations.

• Check for proper spelling and usage of punctuation marks, which are hallmarks of professionally run newsrooms. Rafaela Baluyut, Vanya Danyella Barachita

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