Fact check: Did Paolo Duterte release an x-ray image to disprove tattoo allegations?

April 10, 2019 - 2:38 PM
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Paolo Duterte in a hearing
Paolo Duterte gestures with his hands in this undated photo. (The STAR/KJ Morales)

Some social media users are falsely believing a satirical claim by a Facebook page that alleges former Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte showed an x-ray of his torso in response to the tattoo allegations.

Facebook page “DGCN Updates” posted a photo of a chest x-ray and claimed that it was Paolo Duterte’s. The post mentioned that he shared it to the media to silence his critics.

“Upang patahimikin ang mga kritiko, inilabas ni Pulong sa media ang x-ray ng kanyang likod,” an excerpt of the post reads.

However, the page labels itself as a “religious parody page” that aims to “deliver relevant religious parodies.”

Its “About” section on Facebook reads: “All stories reported by DGCN are parodies with satiric or ironic limitation. Don’t be gullible.”

Nevertheless, some social media users believed that the younger Duterte really showed an x-ray of his back in response to the tattoo allegations.

It was even picked up by a Facebook page that called the presidential son “stupid.”

There are no current reports of Paolo Duterte showing an x-ray of his torso to the media. His official Facebook page does not feature such a picture or post as well.

X-ray scans only the skeleton and detects some medical conditions like pneumonia. It does not show whether a person has a tattoo or not.

All about the tattoo 

Allegations about the presidential son’s back tattoo were renewed when a viral video tagged him being allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade.

The video claimed that Paolo Duterte receives huge amounts of grease money stemming from the trade as recorded in a series of documents called “TARA.”

It also accused the presidential son of having links to an international crime syndicate which they claim can be proven through an alleged dragon tattoo on his back.

READ: Paolo Duterte accused of involvement in illegal drugs, this time by a ‘shady’ video

“It is also true that Paolo Duterte has a tattoo. I have seen this personally. He doesn’t want to show it because the tattoo includes a code number,” a man with a pseudonym of “Bikoy” claimed in the video.

“That code number is the same number beside his codename in the TARA. That’s why he doesn’t want to show it… the alpha numeric code is located at the upper portion of his dragon tattoo in his back under the eye of the dragon,” he added.

The presidential son replied by taunting his critics to get their own tattoos instead.

“Pakialam gyud akong tattoo? Pabuhat mog inyo uy! (Really, pick on my tattoo? Get one yourselves),” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio also dismissed the claims and said that he is only obliged to show his back tattoo provided there is a court order.

“Kung ako, ‘di ko ipapakita ‘yung tattoo ko kasi I have my right to privacy. Unless there is a case about my tattoo, kung sinasabi ng judge ipakita mo ‘yang tattoo mo, then that’s the only time na magpapakita ako,” she said.