FACT CHECK: Photo of Duterte reuniting with family outside ICC is fake

Claim: A photo shows the family of former president Rodrigo Duterte meeting him outside the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The TikTok video containing the claim has 1.5 million views, 41,200 likes, 1,159 comments, and 2,291 shares as of writing.

Text overlaid on the video reads: “Masaya ang pamilyang Duterte dahil muli silang nagkasama-sama ng ilang oras sa labas ng ICC. Nagkaroon ng panandaliang pagsasama ang pamilyang Duterte sa labas ng International Criminal Court, kung saan nakita silang magkakasama ng ilang oras habang patuloy na sinusubaybayan ng publiko ang mga kaganapan.”

(The Duterte family was happy because they were reunited for several hours outside the ICC. The Duterte family had a brief gathering outside the International Criminal Court, where they were seen spending time together for a few hours as the public continued to closely monitor the developments.)

The facts: The image used in the video is altered. The original photo, posted on the Facebook page of Davao City First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, shows Duterte’s children — Paolo, Vice President Sara Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, and Veronica “Kitty” Duterte — during their visit to The Hague, Netherlands, in August 2025. The photo was taken when the siblings visited the city where the former president is being held at the ICC detention facility.

In the manipulated version circulating online, the elder Duterte was digitally inserted into the image to make it appear as if he was standing with his children outside the ICC. However, verified reports show that no such reunion outside the ICC took place. According to a February 23 report by The Philippine Star, members of the Duterte family were not allowed to visit the former president in person during the ICC’s confirmation of charges hearings scheduled on February 23, 24, 26, and 27. 

AI-generated: An analysis using AI Image Detector confirmed that the circulating photo showing Duterte with his family outside the ICC is highly likely to be AI-generated. The tool classified the image under the label “AI” with 100% confidence, while assigning 0% confidence to the possibility that it was human-generated.

This finding is further supported by a separate review using Sight Engine, an AI image detection tool, which also indicates that the photo has been manipulated. Sight Engine classified the image as “Likely AI-generated” with 69% confidence, flagged GenAI elements at 69%, and face manipulation, while diffusion models such as Imagen/Nano Banana accounted for 62% of the detected generation methods.

ICC detention: Duterte has been detained at the ICC since March 2025, following his arrest over crimes against humanity charges related to his administration’s drug war. His family, including Baste and Kitty, takes turns visiting him at the detention facility.

During his visit to his detained father on Wednesday, March 4, Baste said that the elder Duterte lost weight due to poor appetite and the psychological strain of detention. 

Duterte, now 80, has cited frailty and opted not to attend the ICC’s confirmation of charges hearings in person, though ICC judges previously ruled he was fit to participate in pre-trial proceedings. – Marjuice Destinado/Rappler.com

Marjuice Destinado is a senior political science student at Cebu Normal University (CNU) and an alumna of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2025.