Vice President Sara Duterte defended her recent statements regarding gun violence in the Philippines, asserting that her comments reflected the nation’s pressing security realities and were taken out of context by selective editing.
Addressing the public attention following her remarks in The Hague regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Vice President emphasized through Office of the Vice President (OVP) statements that her intent was to spotlight a daily public safety issue rather than generate soundbites.
”It is a fact that gun violence in the Philippines has become alarmingly commonplace. This is not clickbait, nor is it a headline that should be reduced to a passing remark,” Duterte said.
”This is not merely a ‘Duterte and kill, kill, kill.’ It reflects the daily reality faced by Filipinos on the streets, wondering whether they can go home safely,” she added.
Highlighting a widespread sense of insecurity among citizens, Duterte noted that violent crimes have grown so frequent that the public risks becoming desensitized.
”Reports of shootings, killings, and other violent crimes have become so frequent that many Filipinos have grown accustomed to seeing them in the news,” Duterte said.
”Too many people have become victims of shootings, stabbings, kidnappings, sexual violence, and other crimes that continue to threaten lives and undermine the sense of security every citizen deserves,” she added, noting that “the reality is—Filipinos do not feel safe.”
Duterte argued that public safety needs to remain the focal point of the conversation rather than political commentary surrounding her name.
”The safety of the Filipino people must be treated as a national priority, not as a mere single-line news item,” Duterte said. “This is not just about a remark or another news story about Sara Duterte. This is about our children and their future,” she added.
In a separate statement, the Vice President called out a news outlet for publishing a “deliberately spliced and misleading” social media clip on July 29, which she said excised her supporting explanation to stir up public outrage.
”The circulating post is a clear example of a statement being taken out of context and presented in a misleading manner to generate public outrage and online engagement at the expense of accuracy and responsible journalism,” Duterte said.
Duterte concluded by appealing to media organizations to uphold context, accuracy, and journalistic integrity over sensationalism.
”The Filipino people deserve journalism that informs truthfully, reports responsibly, and presents facts in their proper context,” Duterte said. “Public discourse is strengthened not by sensationalism, but by integrity, fairness, and respect for the truth,” she added.