MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Tuesday, October 17, refuted the lie by a pro-Duterte page saying that the CBCP “regrets” the killing of Marawi siege leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute.

“Once more, CBCP is the hapless victim of fake news,” CBCP president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement.

“Going viral on social media is a ‘report’ that the CBCP regrets the killing of Messrs. Hapilon and Maute. The CBCP never made such a statement,” Villegas added.

This comes after Hapilon and Maute were killed in clashes with Philippine troops, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare on Tuesday that Marawi City is now “liberated” from terrorist influence.

The lie was posted on the Facebook page “Rodrigo Duterte Supporters,” and already has more than 26,600 shares and 28,000 likes as of 6:30 pm, or 6 hours after it was posted.

Villegas pointed out: “On the contrary we laud the gallantry of our soldiers and their heroic efforts to free Marawi. We will gladly join government in rebuilding the city in the measure we are able.

“We pray for all the dead, and for lasting peace in Mindanao,” he added.

Facebook pages such as “Rodrigo Duterte Supporters” have spewed out lies on social media, aiming to sway public opinion using propaganda. The Duterte administration is accused of supporting propaganda pages, such as Mocha Uson Blog, to advance its agenda. – Rappler.com