The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has denied that Vice President Sara Duterte, who authored a short children's book, plagiarized Andy Runton's book "Owly Just A Little Blue" as alleged by Ninotchka Rosca.

Responding to reporters' querries via Viber, OVP Spokesperson Atty. Michael Poa said VP Sara's book "Isang Kaibigan" has copyright registration.

"The book has been registered since December 2023," Poa said.

"Wala po," the OVP spokesperson said when asked if the Vice President committed plagiarism in the said book.

Poa, however, said that he has not yet read the book.

"I will not comment on this because I have not read the contents of the book," he said.

Poa also said that the book is not being sold.

"In fact 'yung nasa proposed budget is just for printing of the actual copies. Hindi po bibilhin ang book. Printing lang po," he said.

A Facebook user messaged Andy Runton to inform him that his book has been plagiarized by the Vice President.

"I wanted to bring to your attention a concerning issue regarding your book, Owly. It has come to my notice that the Vice President of the Philippines has allegedly plagiarized your work. She has reportedly translated your book into Tagalog under the title "Ang Kaibigan" (A Friend), using similar characters and plot elements. There are plans to distribute this book in public schools, which has already sparked significant public criticism," said a Facebook user calling himself/herself as "one of the author's readers."