FACT CHECK: AI-manipulated video misrepresents VP Sara counsel’s opening statement

The manipulated video made it appear as though lawyer Sheila Sison made remarks demanding that the prosecution 'immediately' prove its allegations against the Vice President A misleading video altered the real opening statement delivered by Sheila Sison, lead counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte, on the first day of the impeachment trial. The claim that Sison made the statement is rated as false, as her actual words emphasized the burden of proof principle in legal proceedings. The impeachment trial involves allegations against Duterte, including misuse of confidential funds and bribery, with ongoing testimonies from key witnesses. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. Claim: Sheila Sison, lead counsel for Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team, demanded that the prosecution immediately prove its allegations with evidence during her opening statement on the first day of Duterte’s impeachment trial. Rating: FALSE Why we fact checked this: The short video clip bearing the claim came from the Facebook post of user Lovely Miles, uploaded last July 10. The video shows Sison saying, “Prove your allegations with evidence. You cannot just make accusations without proof. This is a serious matter! Present your evidence now!” The Facebook account has over 155,000 followers, and the post got 3.1 million views, 43,900 reactions, 4,200 comments, and 4,000 shares. It can also be found on other platforms like TikTok. The caption states: “[Lead House prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Representative] Gerville Luistro, nilampaso sa unang week ng impeachment trial ni [Vice President] Inday Sara Duterte.” (Lead House prosecutor and Batangas 2nd District Representative Gerville Luistro [was] crushed in the first week of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.) As of this writing, the post is still getting traction in the comments section. The facts: Sison did not make such a statement. The video is manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI). According to results from AI content detection tools such as ZeroGPT and TruthScan, the confidence level is high (92% probability) that the video is likely created by AI. While Sison cited the burden of proof legal principle in her opening statement, the clip manipulated lines from her sentences. Sison’s exact words are: “But what we must not forget amid all these accusations is the fundamental legal principle that the burden of proof never shifts. The burden of proof never shifts. He who accuses must prove his allegations with evidence that meets not only the degree of proof required but also meets the evidentiary standards of admissibility, credibility, relevance, materiality, and competence.” This is also reflected in the Senate’s official journal of the July 6 impeachment trial. Burden of proof refers to the “duty of a party to present evidence on the facts in issue necessary to establish his claim or defense by the amount of evidence required by law,” as cited in a Supreme Court resolution on revised rules on evidence. In her opening statement, Sison said the underlying principle for this burden of proof is the presumption of innocence, which means that a person accused of a crime is assumed to be innocent until proven otherwise. Sara’s impeachment trial: Duterte is on trial for her alleged misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, bribery of public officials, and death threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. (LIST: The 4 articles of impeachment vs VP Sara Duterte) Since the trial began on July 6, several key witnesses by the prosecution have testified around alleged irregularities in the Office of the Vice President (OVP)’s liquidation of confidential funds, with a former Landbank manager saying it was “unusual” for them to see an encashment of P125 million, and an OVP assistant chief of staff confirming the office’s request for such funds before having a written plan. During the 21st day of the trial on September 2, former Department of Education spokesperson and chief of staff Michael Poa took the witness stand, where he faced questions on the agency’s confidential funds, including its use of certifications from the Armed Forces of the Philippines to explain its fund utilization before the Commission on Audit. Debunked: Rappler has previously fact-checked claims related to the ongoing impeachment trial of the Vice President: FACT CHECK: VP Sara impeachment ongoing, not ‘dismissed’ over Landbank testimony FACT CHECK: No SC order blocking 2026 impeachment proceedings vs Duterte FACT CHECK: No DOJ, SC order to stop Duterte impeachment; trial ongoing FACT CHECK: No SC order junking current impeachment proceedings vs VP Sara FACT CHECK: No, the NBI did not launch an ‘attack’ on VP Sara – Eunicito Barreno/Rappler.com Eunicito Barreno is a 2026 Aries Rufo Fellow. He is a senior journalism student at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where he is also news staffer at the Philippine Collegian, the university’s official student publication. Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time. How does this make you feel? Loading