Danniell Domingo

An X user suggested that Royina Garma may not have been truthful in claiming that Former President Rodrigo Duterte met with her in May 2016, citing that it was still election period at the time and Duterte's presidency officially began in June 2016, making it unlikely to prepare for the war on drugs on a national scale.


CLAIM: Former President Rodrigo Duterte unlikely met with ex-PCSO General Manager Royina Garma in May 2016 for the war on drugs campaign

RATING: FALSE

CONCLUSION: Duterte had already claimed victory on May 10, 2016, just a day after the May 9 elections. The preliminary ballot count on Tuesday morning showed that Duterte had already amassed 39% of the counted votes, leading Grace Poe and Mar Roxas to concede due to the large margin.

Duterte’s spokesperson, Peter Lavina, told reporters on the same day that “there will be a major rewriting of our constitution.” The testimony of Garma regarding the timeline of events was truthful, considering that she had already known Duterte in 2016, when she was “acquainted” with him during his time as Davao City mayor.


The National Board of Canvassers released the official tally on May 27, 2016, making it known that Duterte and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo won the presidential and vice presidential race of the May 9 national elections, respectively. 

Duterte reaped a landslide victory of 16,601,997 votes, while Robredo gathered 14,418,817 votes from the Filipino people.

Unbeatable in all elections he participated in, Duterte was officially proclaimed the President of the Philippines on May 30, 2016.

He sat in the Office of the President on June 30, 2016, and the rest was history.

Duterte’s presidency from 2016 to 2022 raised many concerns and birthed many controversies, including human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, media suppression, militarization during the COVID-19 Pandemic, rising poverty, and foreign policy shift marked by closer ties with China.

The former president is a mayoral candidate of Davao City for the 2025 Midterm Elections.