FALSE: Michael V’s poem supports Sara Duterte in 2022 elections

Claim:

Comedian Michael V, aka Bitoy, “stands with” President Rodrigo Duterte and supports his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, in the 2022 election.

A graphic posted on the Facebook group “SARA DU30 Supporters for 2022” features an image of Michael V and a poem written by him. It also includes the words “I stand with the president,” along with the group’s name and logo.

The verse from his poem that was used in the graphic says: “Kahit sino mang pangulo ang iluluklok ng bayan ‘di kakayanin ang bigat kung ‘di natin tutulungan. Ang mabuting pagbabago na kanyang sisimulan tayo ang magpapatuloy hanggang sa katapusan. Awatin na ang dilang masakit magsalita. Pakawalan ang pusong makatao ang gawa.”

“Whoever is chosen president by the people will be unable to carry the burden without our support. Whatever good he starts we should continue till the end. Time to curb hurtful words. Set free a humane heart.”

The post has since received around 7,500 reactions, 408 comments, and 4,300 shares.

This claim was emailed to Rappler by a reader for fact checking. It was also flagged by Facebook’s fact checking tool Claim Check as potentially false or misleading.

Rating: FALSE

The facts:

Michael V did not say he stands with President Duterte or that he supports Sara Duterte in the 2022 elections.

His poem was posted on his Instagram page on May 16, 2016, right after Duterte won the presidency.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, July 30, Michael V addressed the graphic that has been circulating, saying that he wrote the poem 4 years ago “to encourage people to accept and respect the election results, consistent with the ‘Dapat Tama’ campaign na ginawa ko with GMA Network.”

GMA’s “Dapat Tama” election campaign advocated for voter’s education during the 2016 presidential elections.

In his July 30 post, Michael V clarified that his poem was not a recent post. “I have no problem with people using it for the right reason pero HUWAG PO NATING GAMITING CAMPAIGN MATERIAL,” he said. (I have no problem with people using it for the right reason but let’s not use it as campaign material.)

He used the hashtag “#fakenews” and also included a screenshot of the graphic being circulated. He encircled the words “I stand with the president,” “SARA DU30 Supporters 2022,” and the Facebook page’s logo in red. – Vernise Tantuco/Rappler.com