DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 17 June) — Vice President Sara Duterte sees no problem with politicians sharing artificial intelligence (AI) content in support of her innocence in her upcoming impeachment proceedings before the Senate.

“I don’t think there’s a problem in sharing an AI video in support of me, as long as it’s not a business. I mean, if I were a social media account owner and I create an AI to support a certain personality, there’s no problem with that because I’m not doing it as a business. I’m not selling my product to people,” she said in Filipino in a press conference at SMX Convention Center here Monday afternoon.

This is after Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Senator Ronald dela Rosa shared a viral post about a supposed interview of youth sentiment on Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment proceedings last Saturday through a Facebook page “AY GRABE.” 

However, as MindaNews fact-checked the Facebook posts, they were deemed fake, and supporters of both politicians even tried to advise them that this was created using AI.

Both Dela Rosa and Baste Duterte shared an AI-generated video on social media that appeared to show three students expressing opposition to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

The video, which included the hashtag #AI can be seen to have AI features, yet the senator reposted it with a caption praising the youth for their supposed political awareness.

“Mabuti pa ang mga bata, nakakaintindi sa mga pangyayari. Makinig kayo, mga yellow at mga komunista!” he wrote, referring to the anti-Duterte opposition groups.

The vice mayor-elect Duterte also shared the same AI-generated video and said, “And the liberals say they have Gen Z support. Come on.”

Netizens quickly pointed out that the video was not real and questioned why a sitting senator would promote AI-generated content as if it were authentic.

Even Dela Rosa and Duterte supporters pointed out that what they shared were AI-generated, and alarmed them on their potential spread of misinformation, especially coming from public officials.

Dela Rosa, however, dismissed the backlash and responded to his critics with a combative remark: “Umatake kayo, mga trolls! Kumbate! Loslos ninyo!”

The vice president also criticized marketing firm Comm&Sense Inc. after an OpenAI report revealed it used AI to generate anti-Duterte content online, claiming this was part of a broader effort to discredit her ahead of the 2028 elections.

She questioned why such companies were not included in the House probe on online disinformation, while legitimate social media users were summoned.

Despite the controversy, Duterte said she has no plans to file charges against the firm’s founder, Jaeger Tanco.

“Nagpapakita na itong lahat ay ano lang talaga, politika at harassment sa mga kalaban sa politika ng administrasyon. Hindi na ’yan nanggaling sa amin,” the vice president said.

Meanwhile, Malacañang Press Officer Claire Castro warned the public that it is especially damaging to public trust when government officials themselves spread disinformation or fake news, apparently pointing to Dela Rosa and Baste Duterte. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)