VICE President Sara Duterte denied allegations of plagiarizing the children’s book “Isang Kaibigan,” which she authored.
“Napakadaling sumulat ng maikling kwento batay sa sariling karanasan, hindi na kailangang mangopya pa,” she said.
“Ang proyekto ay para mahikayat ang mga bata na mahalin ang pagbabasa at sumulat ng sarili nilang kwento. Hindi ang libro ang problema ng bayan kundi ang kahinaan sa pagbabasa ng ating Kabataan,” Duterte said.
“Abangan ninyo ang susunod kong isusulat na libro tungkol sa pagtataksil ng isang kaibigan,” she added.
OVP spokesperson Michael Poa, on Wednesday, also said that the book was copyrighted and had been registered since December 2023 despite online allegations that it was plagiarized from a graphic novel of American author and artist Andy Runton titled, “Owly Just a Little Blue”.
Duterte published “Isang Kaibigan”, which was about “the value of true friendship and kindness” in 2023.
