Photo of Philippines first lady falsely claims encounter with ICC judges linked to Duterte’s arrest
The caption misidentified the people in the picture and provided the wrong location and date
CLAIM
A photo shared on social media purported to show the Philippines’ First Lady, Liza Marcos, sitting at an event’s dining table with other women identified as International Criminal Court judges. The picture was posted as a montage with another photo of the judges following the arrest of former Philippines president, Rodrigo Duterte, on an ICC warrant on charges of crimes against humanity.
BACKGROUND
Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was detained at Manila Airport on an ICC arrest warrant as he arrived from Hong Kong on March 11.
Within hours, Duterte was put on a plane bound for The Hague, where he arrived the next day and was turned over to the custody of the ICC.
The warrant relates to allegations of the crime against humanity of murders committed between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019, as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population during Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs”.
The crackdown saw thousands of people killed during his term as president and previously as mayor of Davao.
The Philippines withdrew from the International Criminal Court in 2019, prompting Duterte’s family members and former spokesperson to call the arrest unlawful.
The ICC said it has jurisdiction in the Philippines for alleged crimes committed before the country’s withdrawal as a member of the court. Duterte was president from 2016 to 2022.
Philippines officials have repeatedly refused to cooperate with the ICC, citing its lack of jurisdiction, but their stance recently changed, with statements saying they would act if the Interpol requested.
Duterte supporters believe the move came after the alliance with his successor, Marcos Jr., broke down following the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, who is Duterte’s daughter.
A photo montage emerged on social media a few days after the arrest, purported to show the current president’s wife, Liza Marcos, sitting at a table with other women, two of whom were said to be ICC judges involved in Duterte’s case.
In the photo montage, the top half showed official portraits of judges Iulia Motoc, Reine Alapini-Gansou and Socorro Flores Liera, while the bottom half showed a cropped photo of Liza Marcos at a table dining with two other women.
The first versions of the photo montage were being reshared on March 15, but social media users claimed the encounter took place on March 7, days before Duterte’s arrest.
Facebook user Jones Bersabal posted the photo montage with the following comment: “Update: The two ICC judges in PDUTERTE’s case were seen attended the dinner party of the Philippines’ First Lady in waldorf hotel , Beverly Hills on March 7, 2025. There’s really a conspiracy between the ICC and the Marcoses!”
While some Facebook comments indicated the claim was false, others seemed to believe the picture, saying the Marcos family was paying the ICC judges in a conspiracy against Duterte.
Bersabal’s post came shortly after the same account shared a low-quality video of Duterte, which it described as being his first appearance at the ICC. The caption read, “It seems like he was tortured a lot.”
This Instagram account posted a somewhat shocked reaction to the picture, saying, “THEY ARE BFFS! Meet the ICC Judges who ordered Duterte’s arrest”, using an acronym inferring the women were “best friends forever”.
X user Harry Star reshared the picture as a reply to the Filipino news outlet ABS-CBN News, which reported on Duterte supporters “spamming” ICC judges.
METHOD
A search of Liza Marcos’ official agenda, published on the website of the president of the Philippines, showed that the first lady attended a gala dinner of the Manila International Film Festival at The Beverly Hilton, California, on March 7. She also attended the screening of a movie at the TCL Theater, Hollywood, California, the same day.
While Bersabal’s post mentioned that the first lady was in Beverly Hills that day, the hotel’s name was incorrect.
The pictures posted on the president’s website of the gala dinner did not match the image that claimed to show Marcos with ICC judges at a dining table.
Marcos’s dress at the dinner is different, and the tables are dimly lit, which contrasts with the bright picture at the dining table with the alleged ICC judges.
The next step was to find the original photo of Marcos that was being reshared this March. Her official Facebook page is updated regularly with pictures of the events she attends.
Scrolling back to past events, the original photo was found part of a post about Marcos’ visit to New York, where she attended the First Ladies Luncheon event on September 20, 2022.
In the photo, the women sitting by Marcos’s side are identified as Evie Evangelou, president and founder of Fashion 4 Development, wearing a black and red jacket, and Gina Diez Barroso, President of CENTRO University, wearing a beige top.
Photos posted on the Fashion 4 Development website showed Evangelou and Barroso wearing the same outfits pictured by Marcos, showing the First Ladies Luncheon published in 2022.
RATING
A search on the official websites and social media accounts showed the picture montage shared on social media falsely claimed the women sitting next to Philippines First Lady Liza Marcos were ICC judges. The caption misidentified the people in the picture and provided the wrong location and date.
SOURCES
Facebook (2025) Available at: Jonnel Bersabalan [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].
Instagram (2025) Available at: Dorothy Mamaril Ronquillo [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter) (2025) Available at Harry Star [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].
ICC (2025) Available at: Judges by Chambers [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].
Facebook (2025) Available at Liza Marcos [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].
President Republic of the Philippines (2025). Available at: Official Events as First Lady [Accessed 27 Mar. 2025].