Claim: A social media post claims that former Surigao del Norte 2nd District representative Robert “Ace” Barbers said former senator Antonio Trillanes IV would be the number 1 senatorial candidate if he runs as he is loved by the Filipino people.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact checked this: The post was published by a Facebook account named Prettylove Lara in the “SARA DUTERTE SUPPORTERS” group, which has 612,150 members as of writing. Its caption read, “Let’s see in 2028 we are democracy let’s go 🤣,” followed by several hashtags.
The post features a quote card bearing the photos of Barbers and Trillanes, alongside the statement: “Kung tatakbo ng senador si Trillanes magiging number 1 siya dahil mahal siya ng sambayanang Pilipino.”
(If Trillanes will run for the Senate, he will be the number 1 senator because the Filipino people love him.)
As of writing, the post has 520 reactions and 766 comments. The same quote card has also been circulated in other Facebook groups, particularly those supporting the Duterte family.
The facts: No recent statements made by Barbers contain the quote attributed to him in the post. Instead, his recent remarks about the former senator was about the evidence and financial disclosures Trillanes presented in relation to the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.
On October 2, Trillanes held a press conference where he presented information on financial transactions involving Duterte, her husband Manases Carpio, and companies linked to them. Barbers said the disclosures deserved serious attention, noting that some of the transactions identified by Trillanes had been independently corroborated through official records, including records from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Barbers also said Trillanes had originally been included in the prosecution’s witness list for the impeachment trial. Trillanes later withdrew from the witness list, but Barbers said this did not invalidate documents and other records that could independently support portions of the financial trail he presented.
The quote in the Facebook post, however, was nowhere in Barbers’ recent statements or in the video cited by the post. There is also no indication in these statements that Barbers said Trillanes would be the number 1 senatorial candidate or that he was “mahal ng sambayanang Pilipino.”
The post therefore attributes to Barbers a statement he did not make.– Mark David Silencio/Rappler.com
Mark David Silencio is an Information Technology student at Bulacan State University in Plaridel, Bulacan. An Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow for 2026, he is also the managing editor for Administration of Pacesetter.
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