Defense secretary says Paolo Duterte’s ouster list is fake news

The Department of National Defense distanced itself from an alleged ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte floated by the president’s son himself.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana called the list of people involved in an alleged “Oust Duterte Movement” posted by former Davao City vice mayor Paolo “Pulong” Duterte on Facebook as “fake news.”

“The first time I saw that post, I said it’s fake news. I still maintain that it’s fake news,” Lorenzana said.

The presidential son on Friday posted screenshots of an open spreadsheet file labeled “ANTI-ADMINISTRATION GROUP OUST DUTERTE MOVEMENT” on Facebook.

“Gi-send ra ni sa akoa ha… Share lang nako kay para bibo…,” the former vice mayor said.

[Translation: This was just sent to me. I’ll share it for fun.]

The list included the usual opposition politicians, known journalists and some members of the clergy. It also implicated big corporations such as Jollibee, Dole, PLDT and General Tuna Corporation.

It also labeled members of the alleged ouster plot as “millennial students studying at Jesuit-run schools” and “mutant/cause oriented groups.”

The post was deleted from Paolo Duterte’s Facebook page, but after it had been shared thousands of times. Netizens were also able to take screenshots of his post and spread it on their own social media accounts.

Paolo Duterte is running for Congress in the 2019 elections.