FACT CHECK: Viral photo of Duterte reunited with daughter Kitty is manipulated

Claim: Former president Rodrigo Duterte has been reunited with his daughter, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, after leaving the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention center, as seen in a circulating photo on Facebook.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The viral post made by Mindanao Viners amassed 46,000 reactions, 1,200 comments, and 1,000 shares as of writing.

The photo shows Duterte, who appeared to have lost weight and had his hair grown out, leaning on his daughter, Kitty.

It also included a “Breaking News” graphic on the upper left corner, suggesting that the photo shows a recent development in the former president’s ongoing crimes against humanity case at the ICC.

Thousands of sad reactions flooded the post, while mixed views were seen in the comment section. Some declared their continuing support for the former strongman and asked the public for compassion and prayers after seeing Duterte’s state in the photo.

Other users have flagged the photo as AI-generated or manipulated using photo editing tools.

The facts: The misleading image is a manipulated version of the original photo posted in April 2024 by Senator Bong Go, showing Duterte and Kitty together for the latter’s birthday celebration. Duterte’s appearance was heavily edited to show him looking gaunt in the altered version of the photo.

Since his arrest in March 2025 for charges of crimes against humanity linked to his war on drugs, Duterte’s initial appearance via video link before the pre-trial chamber was the only image of him that has been made public so far. 

Contrary to the post’s implication that Duterte has been released and has reunited with his daughter, his case is ongoing. He remains detained under ICC custody after his appeal for interim release was denied in November by the appeals chamber. The court also upheld its jurisdiction over the charges against Duterte, clearing a hurdle in his delayed pre-trial.

Following medical assessments by an independent panel of experts, Duterte was deemed fit by the ICC to stand for pre-trial, with the confirmation of charges set on February 23.

Manipulated images: Rappler has previously debunked another circulating post about Duterte supposedly being allowed to leave detention for an hour to meet his family.

The post also used the same photo of the former president, showing him donning long hair and looking gaunt. Instead of Kitty, the post shows Vice President Sara Duterte supposedly alongside her father. This image has been flagged by AI detection tools as having a high probability of facial manipulation using Google Gemini.

Debunked: Rappler has previously debunked viral posts that are AI-generated and heavily altered:

• FACT CHECK: Spliced news report used to falsely claim Duterte is back in PH
• FACT CHECK: 1990 GMA interview mentioning Marcos is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: Video of Zaldy Co alleging selective prosecution is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: Renee Co and Zaldy Co are not related, viral photo is AI-manipulated
• FACT CHECK: Photo of bedridden Duterte is fake, digitally altered

– Lourence Angelo Marcellana/Rappler.com

Lourence Angelo Marcellana is a volunteer. He is a fourth-year journalism student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and the former Editor-in-Chief of PUP College of Communication’s The Communicator.

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