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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider There's a 'concerted effort' to discredit the Senate, Sotto thinks

There's a 'concerted effort' to discredit the Senate, Sotto thinks

Published Oct 10, 2025 12:23 pm
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III believes that there's a concerted effort to discredit the Senate, including him and his other colleagues, through the dissemination of fake news.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III (Mark Balmores/Manila Bulletin)
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III (Mark Balmores/Manila Bulletin)
"Talagang parang mayroong, ano tawag dun, may directed, mayroong propaganda talaga against the Senate, against myself (It really seems like there’s—what do you call it—something directed, there’s actual propaganda against the Senate and against myself)," Sotto said in a chance interview on Friday, Oct. 10.
"Kasi napansin namin mula September 8, pagdating na mga Thursday, Friday, Saturday, may mga fake news against me, against Sen. Lacson, against Sen. Zubiri. Tapos pagdating na lunes, meron daw coup (Because we noticed that starting September 8, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, there’s fake news against me, Senator Lacson, and Senator Zubiri. Then by Monday, there are rumors about a supposed coup)," he added.
Because of this, Sotto thinks there is a concerted effort, probably aimed at discrediting him and the Senate, orchestrated by some quarters.
"I don't know who. We'll try to find out," he said.
"Eh siguro, walang makita sa amin. Gumawa na lang ng imbento gumawa ng fake news (Well, maybe since they can’t find anything against us, they just resorted to making things up—spreading fake news)," he added.
During the plenary session, he addressed fake news spreading on social media involving him. Some of which state that he's pushing for a 50 percent tax on monetization of content creators, whether big or small.
"For the information of my colleagues, numerous and coordinated circulation of fake news have been circulating regarding new tax measures allegedly proposed by me," Sotto said.
He stated that in his 24 years in the Senate, he has never proposed any tax measures and that he has consistently voted against them.
For the peddlers of fake news, he said: "Ipagdadasal ko nalang kayo (I’ll just pray for you)."
"Sa ating mga kababayan huwag kayo basta maniniwala, lalo na pag masama ang balita (To our fellow Filipinos, don’t believe things right away—especially when the news is negative)," he added.

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Tito Sotto fake news Senate of the Philippines coup
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