The Office of the Vice President (OVP) calls the attention of the editorial and reportorial teams of The Manila Times regarding its misleading banner story published on 26 June 2025, titled: “Sara: Why would drug war victims’ families object?”
According to a press release, the article falsely claimed that Vice President Sara Z. Duterte “cannot understand why the families of the victims of the drug war oppose the petition of her father for interim release from the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying that his condition is now worsening.”
It contends that the headline and lead paragraph of the story are “false, malicious, and inaccurate.”
During a press briefing in San Fernando City, Pampanga on June 25, Vice President Duterte responded to a media query concerning the opposition filed by ICC prosecutors to the interim release petition submitted by the legal counsel of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
The Vice President was specifically addressing the basis cited by prosecutors—statements from the family members of the accused, including herself—suggesting that the former President had been “kidnapped” by the tribunal.
The Vice President’s direct quote was: “Sorry ah, but I do not understand why the prosecution would oppose the petition for interim release of an accused based on the statements of family members.”
This clearly refers to the position of the ICC prosecution, not to the families of the complainants, as The Manila Times erroneously reported.
The OVP statement urged the management of The Manila Times to immediately issue a correction and publish an erratum, especially given that the article was featured as the banner story in its 26 June 2025 print issue.
It also reminded the media to uphold the highest standards of accuracy, fairness, and integrity in their reporting.*
