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FACT CHECK

VERA FILES FACT CHECK: FB user posts a FAKE Sharon Cuneta quote

A netizen posted an image of veteran actress Sharon Cuneta wearing a yellow campaign shirt and attributed a fabricated statement to her.

The fake quote card, published July 6 on the public Facebook (FB) group PROTECT THE PRESIDENT DUTERTE said: “Ito naman talaga ang tunay at totoo ko na kulay ‘dilaw’ kaya gusto ko si Lenie [sic] manalo pagka presidente (This is actually my real and true color — ‘yellow,’ that’s why I want Leni to win as president).”

A keyword search yields no evidence of Cuneta making this statement in news reports, video clips or any post on her social media accounts.

The fake quote card comes a week after the actress said Vice President Leonor “Leni” Robredo could “restore decency in most of us” should she become the country’s chief executive.

“Dilaw” or “Yellow” and its other form, “Dilawan,” has become a colloquial term for supporters of the opposition — the Liberal Party, where Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Cuneta’s husband, is president.

The fake quote card received over 2,500 comments after it was reshared on two other FB groups — Solid Duterte Supporters Worldwide and Tulfo Brothers Worldwide. Majority of the comments attacked Cuneta for supposedly admitting where her loyalty lies and supporting the vice president.

Cuneta’s support for Robredo is not new; she endorsed the vice-president in the 2016 polls.

A reverse image search shows Cuneta’s photo was taken from a 2016 article in news site Politiko. The image was of Cuneta campaigning for Pangilinan, back when he was running for re-election in 2016.

The fake graphic was posted after Cuneta said in a June 29 Instagram Live that she hopes Robredo runs for president and wins as it might “restore decency in most of us.”

(This fact check was produced by a student from the University of the Philippines Diliman who is doing his/her internship with VERA Files.)

(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)