FALSE: Media did not report on Duterte’s response to Super Typhoon Rolly

At a glance:

• Claim: Media outlets did not report on President Rodrigo Duterte’s response to Super Typhoon Rolly, unlike former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s response to Super Typhoon Yolanda.
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Duterte’s response to Rolly was covered by various media outlets.
• Why we fact-checked this: Rappler found this post on CrowdTangle. As of writing, it has around 3,200 shares, 499 comments, and 7,000 reactions. It was also emailed to Rappler and posted on the “Fact-Checking in the Philippines” Facebook group for verification.

Complete details:

President Rodrigo Duterte’s response to Super Typhoon Rolly (Goni) was supposedly not covered by the media, unlike former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s response to Super Typhoon Yolanda. 

The claim was posted by a Facebook page called “DT,” which posts about Duterte and Philippine news. Rappler found this post on CrowdTangle. As of writing, it has around 3,200 shares, 499 comments, and 7,000 reactions. Versions of the claim posted on other pages were also emailed to Rappler and posted on the “Fact-Checking in the Philippines” Facebook group for verification.

The claim included a picture that featured both Duterte and Aquino, along with satellite imagery of Yolanda and Rolly. The picture was accompanied by a caption under Aquino that said “oras-oras sa media ([covered] by media every hour)” and a caption under Duterte that read: “hindi nakikita ng media (ignored by the media).”

This claim is false.

Media covered Duterte’s activity in relation to Rolly, including his absence from the first briefing about the typhoon, his visit to Albay, his aerial inspection over affected areas, and his live briefing on the typhoon. Media also covered preparations of the national and local governments for the typhoon.

The first high-level briefing on the typhoon took place on November 1, 5 hours after it hit land in Bato, Catanduanes, and Duterte’s absence was reported on by media outlets like Rappler.

On November 2, Duterte’s visit to Albay, where the typhoon made its 2nd landfall, was also covered by news outlets such as Manila Bulletin, ABS-CBN News, PhilStar.com, and Rappler.

Aside from showing his aerial inspection of affected areas in Bicol, media organizations like CNN Philippines, GMA News, and Rappler also did stories on Duterte’s live Cabinet meeting on November 2.

There was also coverage about how local governments and government offices like the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council prepared for the typhoon. For instance, SunStar Pampanga and Inquirer.net both covered local government preparations. CNN Philippines also covered the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s plans for relief operations.

The numbers cited by DT in its post are correct. Both storms were classified as super typhoons, but Yolanda recorded more damage since it resulted in over 6,000 deaths and 1,000 missing persons. Rolly left at least 10 dead and 3 missing as of November 2, when DT’s post was uploaded.

Rolly exited the Philippine area of responsibility as a tropical storm on Tuesday, November 3. – with reports from Margarita Gonzalez, Vernise Tantuco/Rappler

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