Clip of Philippine president discussing overseas worker's execution misleadingly edited

Footage of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos talking about the execution of a Filipino worker in Saudi Arabia has been shared in posts that clipped his full remarks to make it seem as if he said the worker "deserved" the death penalty. A review of Marcos's full remarks show he was in fact talking about his government's efforts to dissuade Saudi authorities from carrying out the execution.

The video appearing to show Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos telling the press, "The judgment of hanging was actually deserved", was shared on Facebook on July 2, 2025.

The video's Tagalog-language caption and superimposed text indicate Marcos was commenting on the execution of an overseas Filipino worker in Saudi Arabia on October 5, after they were convicted of killing a Saudi national (archived link).

AFP reported the execution took place despite appeals from Manila, with Marcos saying his government had exhausted all efforts to prevent it.

The clip has been shared sporadically since October and resurfaced on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, after Marcos was criticised by former ally Vice President Sara Duterte for doing "too little, too late" to aid Filipinos caught up in the Iran-Israel conflict (archived link).

"Listen to this, OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers). Marcos doesn't care about you," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "Is this what should happen to our migrant workers? That they deserve to be hanged?"

But Marcos's remarks have been misleadingly edited.

The falsely shared clip features the logo of local broadcaster UNTV News and Rescue, and is dated October 9. A subsequent keyword search on Google led to the broadcaster's full newscast, which was posted on YouTube (archived link).

Marcos's remarks as aired by the broadcaster can be seen from the newscast's 5:46 mark. The falsely shared clip omits Marcos saying the Saudi authorities had looked into whether "the judgment of hanging was actually deserved".

He is shown saying: "We tried everything, and for many, many years. The Saudi government really tried to look and to be sure that the judgment of hanging was actually deserved.

"Nonetheless, we appealed to the better nature I guess of our friends in Saudi Arabia to perhaps have another look, and they did. Unfortunately, the law there is very strict and apparently the conviction has stood and one of ours has been taken away."

A transcript of Marcos's comments available from the Presidential Communications Office shows he also spoke about providing support for the executed worker's family (archived link).

The false claim has also been debunked by local fact-checking organisation Vera Files (archived link).

AFP previously debunked another false claim about the worker's execution in October.