FALSE: Duterte to announce nationwide total lockdown in July

Claim:

President Rodrigo Duterte is set to announce a nationwide total lockdown in July.

On July 15 and July 16, two Facebook users shared a screenshot of a post which contained supposed information from a SWAT team head on duty in Metro Manila.

“Maghanda-handa daw tayo dahil within this week magdeclare daw si Pres. Duterte ng total lockdown buong Pilipinas… Ipasarado talaga lahat ng establishment, wala talaga pabubuksan kagaya ng ginawa sa China.”

(We should prepare because within this week, President Duterte will declare a total lockdown of the entire Philippines… All establishments will be ordered closed, nothing will be allowed to open, just like what was done in China.)

A reader sent this claim to Rappler for verification, saying it is being forwarded through group chats. The two posts mentioned were flagged by Facebook’s Claim Check, a tool that monitors potentially false content.

Rating: FALSE

The facts:

This is a rehashed false claim that was debunked in April. As of July 23, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said there is “no such nationwide lockdown.”

Rappler disproved this claim in April, which, in some cases, used the same text as the one currently being circulated. The PNP then said that circulating information about a total lockdown was “fake.”

PNP spokesman Brigadier General Bernard Banac told Rappler on July 23 that there is “no such nationwide lockdown.”

Moreover, no news reports say Duterte is set to announce a nationwide total lockdown. In fact, as of July 21, he allowed “limited” face-to-face classes in low-risk areas pending inspection.

Facebook users have recently been resurfacing false claims that were made in the early stages of the pandemic. The claim that helicopters will fly over Luzon to spray anti-coronavirus substances, another previously debunked fake announcement, also re-appeared this month. – Loreben Tuquero/Rappler.com

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