FACT CHECK: Video of Trillanes calling Sara Duterte an ‘addict’ is AI-generated

Claim: A video shows former senator Antonio Trillanes IV calling Vice President Sara Duterte a drug addict. 

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: The video, posted on May 23, has already garnered an estimated 183,000 views, 2,700 reactions, 2,600 comments, and 481 shares as of writing. 

The video shows Trillanes in front of the Senate building and a photo of Duterte with her head shaved. Trillanes is shown saying, “Makikita niyo diyan, babaeng adik at may sayad siya. Grabe, tapos mga tao, ‘Duterte pa din.’ Kitang-kita, adik si Sara Duterte. Utak ba yan ng babae? Ganiyan ang gupit? Siraulo lang ang magpagupit ng ganiyan.” 

(You can see, this woman is a drug addict, and she is insane. It’s terrible, and people say, ‘We’re still with the Dutertes.’ You can clearly see that Sara Duterte is a drug addict. Is that how a woman thinks? With that kind of haircut? Only insane people would get a haircut like that.)

The post did not include a disclaimer stating that the video was generated using artificial intelligence (AI). Many Facebook users in the comment section believed that Trillanes did make the statement. 

One comment reads, “Sumusobra ka na [Trillanes] ah. Bakit guilty kayo kay Sara Duterte. Dahil mabuking na ang ninakaw nyo.” 

(You’ve crossed the line, Trillanes. Why are you so [fixated] about Sara Duterte? Because your stolen money will be revealed?) 

The facts: Trillanes did not make the statement. AI detection tools flagged the video as AI-generated. Truth Scan detected a 66% probability that the video was generated using AI tools. Meanwhile, Hive Moderation flagged the video as 93.8% likely to have AI-generated speech. 

In its analysis, Deepfake Detection noted several subtle inconsistencies, “including minor lip-sync discrepancies and unnatural facial expressions, particularly around the mouth.” 

The photo of Duterte with a shaved head was taken in 2015 to convince her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to run in the 2016 presidential elections. 

A reverse image search also did not show any authentic video similar to the AI-generated content. There are also no news reports quoting Trillanes criticizing the Vice President’s appearance and linking it to substance abuse.  

Duterte critic: Trillanes, a former senator, has long been a critic of the Dutertes, dating back to the time of former president Duterte. In 2018, Trillanes sought a Senate probe into the Dutertes’ alleged ill-gotten wealth. In 2025, Trillanes sued Duterte and Senator Bong Go for plunder over contracts given to a firm owned by the family of Go, Duterte’s longtime aide.

The AI-generated video surfaced days after Trillanes appeared at the Senate, showing an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Duterte ally Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who is now evading arrest.

Duterte’s impeachment: The video also circulated amid the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Duterte, who faces accusations of misusing public funds, accumulating ill-gotten wealth, and making death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Duterte has been impeached twice by the House of Representatives. She is set to face the impeachment trial at the Senate on July 6. 

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has previously fact-checked similar false claims about Trillanes and Duterte’s impeachment: 

• FACT CHECK: No Marcos order to stop impeachment proceedings vs VP Sara 
• FACT CHECK: Arroyo’s ‘message’ to lawmakers pushing for VP Sara impeachment is fake 
• FACT CHECK: No Supreme Court arrest order for Trillanes 
• FACT CHECK: No new arrest warrant issued for Trillanes 
• FACT CHECK: Trillanes not arrested over alleged ICC ‘bribe’ 

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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