FACT CHECK: Duterte remains detained; VP Sara not at ICC to ‘pick up’ her father

Vice President Sara Duterte herself has denied false claims that her father is set to be released soon Claim: Vice President Sara Duterte has gone to pick up her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who has been released and is set to return to the Philippines. Rating: FALSE Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim was posted on July 27 and has already received 200,000 views, 7,500 reactions, 820 comments, and 517 shares as of writing. The text on the video reads, “Sa wakas malapit na ang hinihintay ng lahat! Sinundo na talaga ni Inday kasama ang bodyguard. Yes excited na ba ang lahat?” (Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for is almost here! Inday has actually come to pick [her father] up, accompanied by a bodyguard. Yes, is everyone excited?) The video shows an airplane allegedly used by the Vice President to fetch her father from the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention facility. Some of the Facebook users in the comment section believed the false claim. One comment reads, “Yes! Malapit na dumating ang paborito natin na si Tatay Digong, love you Tay!” (Yes! Our favorite, Tatay Digong, is arriving soon — love you, father!) The facts: There are no official announcements of Duterte’s release or his alleged return to the Philippines. He remains detained at the ICC facility in The Hague, Netherlands. A reverse image search also does not show any credible video or photo from government sources or the ICC that can support the claim. The Vice President herself has denied the false claims that her father is set to be released soon, which circulated after she met with the overseas Filipino community in London and said that she was set to meet her father soon. In a statement on July 28, the Vice President said, “Wala akong sinabi doon sa speech ko na lalabas na si PRRD next week. Hindi ko alam kung saan nagsimula ‘yung ganoon pero definitely wala doon sa transcript na nagsabi ako na lalabas na si PRRD sa ICC or lalabas na si PRRD next week.” (I did not say in my speech that [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte] would be released next week. I don’t know where that idea originated, but the transcript definitely does not show me saying that PRRD would be released from the ICC or that he would be released next week.) Rappler has previously fact-checked similar videos showing private planes that were supposedly used to ferry Duterte back home. However, these posts do not have any credible sources to support their claims. Duterte’s ICC case: Duterte was arrested in March 2025 and has since been detained in The Hague, Netherlands. He is currently facing three counts of crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the killings under his administration’s war on drugs and the Davao Death Squad. Following failed requests for interim release and rescheduled pre-trial hearings, the full trial for Duterte’s case is set to begin on November 30, 2026. Previous fact checks: Rappler has previously fact-checked similar false claims about Duterte’s ICC detention: FACT CHECK: Duterte not set to be released amid US push to dismantle ICC FACT CHECK: No Trump plan to secure Duterte’s release from ICC FACT CHECK: Photos of Duterte at airport are fake, AI-generated FACT CHECK: Photos of Duterte being assisted in ICC courtroom are AI-generated FACT CHECK: ICC did not junk Duterte’s case – 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. Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time. How does this make you feel? Loading