Dela Rosa draws flak over AI video of students opposing Sara Duterte's impeachment
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa unapologetically shared an AI-generated video of Filipino students opposing the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The 30-second clip he reposted on Sunday, June 15, quickly raked in millions of views, as well as thousands of comments and shares from users who assumed it was real.
The video depicted a fabricated man-on-the-street interview featuring AI-generated students being asked whether they supported the impeachment. The fake students said they were against it, arguing that the Office of the Vice President was being “singled out” over confidential funds.
When Dela Rosa shared the video on Facebook, his caption suggested he may have been unaware it was AI-generated, despite the original post including the hashtag “#AI.”
“Mabuti pa ang mga bata nakakaintindi sa mga pangyayari. Makinig kayo mga yellow at mga komunista!” the post’s caption read.
(Even the children understand what’s happening. Listen up, you yellows and communists!)
The argument is a classic case of whataboutism, attempting to deflect from the corruption allegations by raising questions about other agencies’ use of confidential funds.
Officials sharing AI videos?
The post drew criticism from users who warned that, given his position, sharing such misleading content could cause many to believe videos like that are real.
Instead of addressing the video's authenticity directly, Dela Rosa responded to a comment with a noncommittal “kung (if).” He said what mattered more was the message, which he agreed with, regardless of its authenticity.
“[S]abi ko kung AI man yan may punto ang gumawa, kung hindi yan AI may punto ang mga bata na nagsasalita,” he said.
(I said, if that’s AI, the one who made it has a point; if it’s not AI, then the kids speaking have a point.)
“Either way the point is very clear and I agree with that point. I am agreeing to the message not to the messenger. AI man yan na video or a written post still I agree with the message that it conveys,” Dela Rosa added.
Filipino journalist Regine Cabato, who covers disinformation and influence operations, told Philstar.com in a message that officials like Dela Rosa have a “higher responsibility” not to become “superspreaders” of fake content.
This is especially true for lawmakers like him who can vote on impeachment cases and should base decisions on verified facts, instead of seeking information that only confirms their own biases, she added.
While the senator claimed it’s acceptable to agree with the message but not the messenger, Cabato argued this ignores the fact that the medium is also the message, making the two inseparable.
How to spot. In the comment section of Dela Rosa's post, some social media users were also quick to tell him that the video he shared was AI-generated. Others even posted their analyses showing telltale signs of artificial manipulation.
Among the red flags were the nonsense, unreadable text on the student’s polo, which bore two different logos, the garbled names of nearby street vendors and distorted tricycle plate numbers.
Even with increasingly realistic visuals, AI-generated videos often fall short when it comes to animating natural mouth and teeth movement. This is one of the key clues in spotting synthetic content other than fingers and pupils.
The viral video bears the “Veo” logo in the lower right corner, indicating it was produced using Veo 3, Google’s latest AI model, which is capable of creating highly realistic videos with synchronized audio and speech from just a text or image prompt.
At a Monday press briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro also said that government officials should refrain from sharing AI-generated videos, as doing so could damage the credibility of public institutions.
"Hindi po sana nanggagaling sa mga opisyal ng pamahalaan. Nakakaduda, mas nakakawala ng tiwala kung mismong sa matataas na opisyal nanggagaling ang mga misinformation at fake news," she said at as press briefing on Monday.
(This should not be coming from government officials. It’s doubtful; it erodes trust even more when misinformation and fake news come from high-ranking officials themselves.)
Evading accountability
Dela Rosa, however, overlooked the perils of promoting politically charged AI-generated videos and images, which, with their hyperrealistic visuals, could easily deceive viewers.
“I don’t care if this post is AI generated or Manobo generated because I am not after the messenger, I am after the message so, please don’t shoot the messenger without reading the message that he delivers,” he said in a June 16 post.
Why it's harmful. Experts have repeatedly warned that the rapid rise of deepfakes and AI-generated content is fueling disinformation campaigns, many of which are profit-driven, as incentivized by the monetization of views and engagement.
In the Philippines, deepfakes featuring influential public figures have been weaponized to either polish reputations or smear them with false claims. It has also been observed during the past elections.
Cabato pointed to the “polvoron video” as an example of deepfakes being used for political attacks, describing it as a “direct demolition job” against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. The video, which accuses Marcos of using illegal drugs, was not only shared by pro-Duterte influencers but also by dubious accounts allegedly linked to China.
"That means malign actors are constantly looking to take advantage of the public's vulnerability to AI — whatever side of the political aisle," Cabato said.
These tactics add to the influence of troll farms and orchestrated disinformation campaigns, made more effective by the lack of media and digital literacy in the country.
Posted by the Facebook page AY GRABE on June 14, which frequently features AI-generated videos with subtle disclaimers, the viral clip has amassed 7.6 million views, 68,000 shares, and close to 20,000 comments.
It quickly spread as various accounts reuploaded it as new content. Some edited the video to include their reaction or commentary, helping similar posts gain more engagement.
Cabato stressed that lawmakers can only do their job effectively if they base legislation on concrete data and verified facts. Without such, passing necessary laws protecting the people's welfare and the country's sovereignty would only face great hurdles.
"How can we expect lawmakers to pass well-informed laws regulating AI or China-proofing our cyber defense when they spread deepfakes themselves, just because it tells them what they want to hear?" she said.
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