#HindiTama: Site claims Trudeau gave 'fullest support' to drug war

#HindiTama is an initiative of GMA News Online to shed light on viral hoaxes and misinformation on the web.

A news story claiming that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lent support to Philippine President Duterte's war on drugs has been making the rounds anew on social media.

The original article, posted on dw-tv3.com, quoted Trudeau as allegedly saying:

"Canada and the Philippines have been good friends for centuries. Philippines, know that Canada loves you and we are giving you the fullest support. Count on us anytime and we would be at your doorstep."

The statement was allegedly given in the context of support for Duterte's war on drugs.

"As the war on drug (sic) progresses, many of the leaders who criticised (the Duterte administration) have come back to aknowledge (sic) the need for this war," dw-tv3.com reported.

However, no such statement was issued either by the Canadian Embassy nor by Trudeau himself. The Prime Minister is very active on social media, sporting a verified Twitter account (@JustinTrudeau) with over two million followers.

Interestingly, it is impossible for Canada and the Philippines to "have been good friends for centuries" since the Canadian department of foreign affairs was only established in 1909. And prior to the twentieth century, the Philippines and Canada were territories of opposing world powers: the Spanish and British empires, respectively. —JST, GMA News