Singapore seeks legal advice vs fake Duterte endorsement on Facebook

MANILA, Philippines – The Singapore government on Monday said it is seeking legal advice over a “misleading” Facebook post indicating that its prime minister endorsed presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte.

In a Facebook post, the Singapore Embassy in Manila said it "takes a serious view" of a fake Facebook post containing a photo of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong with a quote seemingly endorsing Duterte seriously. It also asked the public to remove the post.

The bogus fake endorsement bore the caption: "Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is the only presidential candidate that could make Philippines like Singapore."

Prior to seeking legal advice, the Singapore Embassy in Manila on Thursday also took to Facebook to clarify that Lee’s photo endorsement circulating online is not true.

Meanwhile, the Singapore government expressed its well wishes for the upcoming May 9 polls and stressed that it's up to Filipinos to choose their leaders.

“The Embassy has learned of a FB post mischievously alleging that the Prime Minister of Singapore endorses a presidential candidate for the upcoming presidential election in the Philippines. This is untrue. Singapore does not endorse any candidate,” the embassy said.

“The choice is for Filipinos alone to make. We wish the Philippines well in the conduct of its elections,” it added.