Fresh from the controversies surrounding her self-authored book, Vice President Sara Duterte held on Sunday, Aug. 25, a book reading among Davao students and explained how she hoped to inspire them to write their own stories.
(Screengrab from Inday Sara Duterte Facebook page)
The Vice President shared a video footage of the event held at the Davao City Library, where students from various child centers in Davao attended the book reading session.
“Sabay-sabay naming binasa ang librong aking sinulat na pinamagatang: “Isang Kaibigan”. Sa naturang book reading event ay binigyan ko sila ng tig-iisang kopya nito (We read the book I wrote entitled “Isang Kaibigan.” During the book reading event, I gave each of them a copy of the book),” she said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, Aug. 27.
“Sinulat ko ito upang mahikayat ang mga bata na magbasa at sumulat ng sarili nilang mga libro o kwento (I wrote this to encourage the kids to read and write their own book or story),” she explained.
Her book became controversial after opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros asked Duterte during the Senate budget hearing on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) proposed 2025 budget about the topic of the book because there was a P10-million allocation for it.
There was a heater exchange between the two officials but later on, Duterte explained the book was simply about a friend.
She faces fresh accusations when social media posts said her book was similar to “Owly: The Way Home” by Andy Runton.
The Vice President has since denied that “Isang Kaibigan” was plagiarized.