A militant leader on Tuesday called out netizens who posted digitally altered photos of anti-Duterte protests during the President’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona) on social media.

In a Twitter post, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes called out Duterte supporters for manipulating a photo of anti-Sona protesters to make it appear that they were supportive of the President.

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“Photoshop anti-Duterte rally to deceive people. See the original photo and the altered. Anyare mga ka-DDS (What happened, DDS supporters)?” Reyes said in his tweet.

In the original photo, the banner held by anti-Duterte rallyists read: “Itakwil ang Duterte Cha-cha. Labanan ang diktadura. (Reject Duterte’s Cha-cha. Fight the dictatorship.),” However, in the manipulated photo, it read: “Itakwil ang dilawan. Labanan ang korapsyon (Reject the ‘dilawan.’ Fight corruption).”

Reyes posted the original photo on his Twitter account on Monday (July 23) evening.

United People's SONA. Salamat sa lahat nang dumalo at tumulong ! #SONA2018 pic.twitter.com/7QhlroeJ7i — Renato Reyes, Jr. (@natoreyes) July 23, 2018

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In a similar case, veteran journalist Inday Espina Varona called out a Facebook user for claiming that thousands of rallyists who marched on Commonwealth Avenue were Duterte supporters.

Nakakahawa ba ang pagka-kawatan? Check out what Marcos trolls are doing hahaha …. desperado pic.twitter.com/Ud645qAvVf — inday espina varona (@indayevarona) July 24, 2018

The anti-Duterte rallies were staged along Commonwealth Avenue — from the Philippine Coconut Authority (Philcoa) to the St. Peter’s Parish — while the pro-Duterte rallies were held along Batasan Road.

The Metro Manila police said on Tuesday they recorded about 15,000 anti-Duterte protesters, but Reyes claimed there were about 40,000 of them. /ee

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