DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday, June 16, 2025, stated she sees “no problem” with the use or sharing of artificial intelligence (AI)-produced videos in her support, provided that these are not used for commercial purposes.

“There’s no problem probably in sharing an AI video in support of me as long as it’s not being used as a business,” the Vice President said in a press conference in Davao City. “If I were to create an AI to support a certain personality, there’s no problem with that because I’m not making a business out of it. I’m not selling it to people.”

Duterte’s statement comes after her brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, and ally Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa faced criticism for sharing an AI-generated video depicting young Filipinos speaking against the Vice President’s impeachment.

Malacañang had earlier slammed Dela Rosa and Mayor Duterte for sharing the inauthentic video, categorizing it as a form of peddling false information. “Sharing things like that — again, disinformation, fake news — should not come from government officials,” said Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro. “It’s suspicious, it erodes trust if disinformation and fake news come from high-ranking officials themselves.”

Senator Dela Rosa, for his part, was ridiculed by netizens over the weekend for reposting the AI video, which was marked with the hashtag #AI, with a caption praising the youth: “Good for the kids, they understand what’s happening. Listen, you yellows and communists!”

Despite criticism from netizens, who quickly pointed out the video’s inauthenticity and urged him to fact-check, Dela Rosa remained dismissive. He asserted that regardless of whether the video was AI-generated, its message was what mattered to him. “If it’s AI, the creator has a point. If it’s not AI, the kids speaking have a point. Either way, the point is very clear and I agree with that point,” he said, ridiculing his critics as “trolls.”

Meanwhile, Vice President Duterte herself criticized marketing firm Comm&Sense Inc. after a report from OpenAI indicated the company had used AI to create social media posts and comments critical of her. Duterte questioned why this firm, allegedly owned by the son of a Marcos supporter and billionaire Eusebio Tanco, was not summoned during the House of Representatives’ investigation into online disinformation.

“Those they called were legitimate owners of Facebook accounts using their freedom of speech and expression, legitimate social media personalities giving opinions that are not against the law,” she said, contrasting them with companies using programs to damage someone’s reputation.

“This shows that this is harassment against political opponents of the administration,” Duterte added. However, she stated she is not keen on filing charges against Jaeger Tanco, the founder of Comm&Sense Inc., believing he has already been sufficiently “embarrassed.”