Vice President Sara Duterte has warned the public against an edited photo circulating online allegedly showing her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, bedridden in a hospital with identification tags on his wrist.

Duterte said her father is "in the pink of health" even if he looks leaner and has lost a lot of weight, describing the former president’s face as firmer and with fewer wrinkles.

"Kaninang umaga may nagpadala sa akin ng photo na mukhang nasa hospital bed si dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, na may dalawang band sa kamay niya. So hindi po totoo ang photo na iyon. Malamang edited ang photo na iyon. Malamang ibang pasyente iyon. Inano lang nila ang mukha ni dating pangulong Duterte," she told reporters in an ambush interview at The Hague, Netherlands on Friday, 11 July.

She said her father was not confined at a hospital ward but was in the regular wing of the detention unit.

"At kanina, naglalakad naman siya mag-isa. May dala dala siyang tungkod. So clearly wala siyang sakit na kumbaga na kailangan niyang maging bed-ridden," the Vice President added.

Despite weight loss, Duterte said her father remains healthy and has no serious illness.

The Vice President, in an earlier interview, said her father had lost significant weight since his detention at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

"I-expound ko kung ano ang skin and bones, payat siya. Sobrang payat niya na hindi niyo pa siya nakita na ganito ka-payat. Siguro nakita ko siyang ganitong kapayat noong binata pa siya and sa photo nung binata pa siya. ‘Yung kanyang braso ay kalahati lang ng braso ko, so ganyan siya kapayat,” she said, adding that the former president’s weight loss could be attributed to a change in diet and his diabetes.

The Duterte patriarch was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on 11 March, based on a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court as part of its probe into his "war on drugs" that defined his presidency.

The former president is currently detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague for charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the extrajudicial killings during his administration’s drug war. He is set to attend a hearing on 23 September to confirm the charges against him.