Sara Duterte has not been sworn in as the Philippines' new president, contrary to TikTok videos claiming to show her taking the presidential oath of office. The posts -- which circulated as Duterte's impeachment trial reached its third week -- manipulated footage from Duterte's vice presidential inauguration in 2022. Official records show Ferdinand Marcos remains the country's president.
"Thanks God, Sarah Duterte is president now," reads a Tagalog-language text overlaid on a TikTok video uploaded on July 27, 2026.
The footage supposedly shows Duterte taking an oath of office as Philippine president before Supreme Court Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando.
The video circulated amid Duterte's ongoing impeachment trial, where she is facing accusations of misusing government funds, unexplained wealth, bribery and making threats against President Marcos (archived link).
A guilty verdict would see Duterte barred from politics, throwing a wrench into her potential 2028 presidential run (archived link).
Despite the trial, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte still enjoys public support, with a May survey showing her as the 2028 front-runner and 49 percent of respondents saying they planned to vote for her (archived link).
Similar clips also circulated on TikTok, with some comments suggesting users believed the video was genuine.
"Congratulations idol," one commenter wrote, while another said: "Long live the Philippines. Congrats President Sara Duterte, god bless...
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