Did Sen. Sotto just lie on national TV?

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By Raïssa Robles

Minutes ago. Senator Vicente Sotto III denied to ABS-CBNNews anchor Karen Davila that he had plagiarized parts of Sarah’s blog, the healthyeconomist.com.

Sotto denied the charge this way:

Pareho kaming pinagkunan. I’m quoting Natasha Campbell McBride. Why should I quote a blogger?

The problem with that answer is this.

Alfredo Melgar on the blog Filipino Freethinkers found that Sotto stated in his speech:

“According, to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, the use of the pill also causes severe gut dysbiosis. What is worse, drug induced gut imbalance is especially intractable and resistant to treatment either with probiotics or diet change.”

Melgar noted that the same paragraph had appeared in Sarah’s blog:

“According, to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, use of other drugs such as the Pill also cause severe gut dybiosis. What’s worse, drug induced gut imbalance is especially intractable and resistant to treatment either with probiotics or diet change.”

Except for the addition of the word “the” and the spelling out of the contraction “what’s” in Sarah’s blog, Senator Sotto’s words are an exact duplicate of Sarah’s paragraph.

Senator Sotto and I are both English majors so he understands what I’m talking about.

If Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride was being directly quoted by Sotto, surely the doctor would not have written a paragraph that starts with the following words – According, to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD…

Anyway you look at it, Sotto’s paragraph is a copy of Sarah’s paragraph.

I would like to invite readers to counter-check further his second speech as well as his other quotations that are similar to those on Sarah’s blog. Were these quoted from the blog or from Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride? Or did Sen. Sotto and Sarah quote from yet another source?

If more evidence turns up, perhaps citizens could file a formal complaint before the Senate Ethics Committee.

Sotto is after all a senior Senate official. He is the Senate Majority floor leader who has a big say on which bills reach the Senate floor.

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Comments

  1. Scary, Tonto Sotto used an attorney to forage the internet for tidbits of info and cherrypick them rather than make face to face interview with experts in order to arrive at a decision and compose his speech that deals on medical issues?!?

    • Nagpapasiklab si Sotto. Ang bibigat ng mga words. Naintindihan kaya niya ng husto ang lahat ng sinabi niya? Sino ba ang pinasisiklaban at English pa ang pananalita? Kinopya lang pala ang ibang parte ng speech. Nabisto tuloy ang kabobohan. Resign ka na lang Sotto. Pati pag gamit mo ng condom hindi mo pa alam.

      • Ang problema kay Mr. Sotto, wala pa nga silang anak eh! bakit gumagamit na ng pills ang asawa niya? Ngayon sasabihin niya kasalanan ng pills hay! naku ang ignorante nga naman and not well informed na tao, hindi dapat maging senator.

  2. Helen Gamboa speaks on son’s death, Sotto’s speech

    ABS-CBNnews.com
    Posted at 08/17/2012 2:02 AM
    Updated as of 08/17/2012 2:05 AM

    MANILA, Philippines — Veteran actress Helen Gamboa said she became emotional as she watched her husband hold back tears while recalling the death of their first child in a televised speech last Monday.

    “Napaiyak ako kasi hindi naman namin pinaglalandakan ‘yung isang istorya na ‘yun na parte ng buhay namin, na namatayan kami ng anak,” Gamboa told ABS-CBN News on Thursday.

    In his “turno on en contra” speech against the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill before the Senate, Gamboa’s husband, Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, said it is his personal mission to block the passage of the bill because his son died allegedly due to the side effects of contraceptives.

    The senator became emotional as he blamed contraceptives for the medical condition of his son, Vincent Paul, who died 5 months after he was born in 1975.

    “Hindi naman namin pinagsasabi,” Gamboa said of the mention of their son in Sotto’s speech. “Ngayon lang na nagkataon na nung binasa niya ‘yung speech niya, it so happened na timing sa araw ng kamatayan ng anak namin, our first son, kaya emosyonal talaga.”

    No crocodile tears

    The veteran actress also defended her husband against critics accusing Sotto of putting up an act as he delivered his speech. According to Gamboa, her husband was merely moved to tears due to the personal nature of his anecdote.

    “Paano siya mababahiran [ng showbiz] kung as a father na-move siya, naging emosyonal siya? Hindi mo pwede ‘yun haluan ng showbiz, kasi totoong nangyari ‘yun sa buhay namin. He just cited it as an example,” she said.

    Only moments after Sotto delivered his controversial speech, his daughter with Gamboa, Ciara, also took to micro-blogging site Twitter to defend her father.

    “My parents experienced losing a child. Bashers/haters can’t change that fact. Sana it won’t happen to any of you,” Ciara said.

    However, response to the senator’s speech have not all been unfarovable, Gamboa said.

    “‘Yung kanyang speech, we really received a lot of positive reviews and comments, so siguro ‘yung iba, parang [may] na-realize sila,” she said.

    Although her husband remains a staunch critic of the RH Bill, Gamboa said she and her family do not intend on “forcing” their stand on others when it comes to the divisive issue.

    “[Hindi namin] pinipilit na kailangan ganito, no. Each one of us is entitled to his own opinion. Hindi pwede pilitin. We don’t force it on anybody. Ine-express niya lang ang kanyang point,” she said.

    • Kaya hindi nila pinaglalandakan dahil lalabas ang katangahan ni Helen at Tito.

      Ngayun lumabas na, binastos ni Tito ang asawa sa buong mundo. Ibig sabihin ni Tito hindi naintindihan ni Helen ang binigay na gamot na maraming kumplikasyun sa kanya kahit pinaliwanag ng doktor. Inom lang ng inom dahil sa napakatanga niya, buntis na inom pa rin ng gamot na dapat hininto niya.

      Sino ang maysala?
      Taong bayan o Tito Sotto?

      He he he

      • HOy, Jhony tma ka may laman na ang tyan inom pa ng inom ng pills tapos sisishin ang pills. Hindi ka dpat maging senator SOtto, pangsarili lang ang iniisip ninyo hindi pangkalahatan. To stay alive you muzt join the society. Hay! naku!

        • Ang hindi ko nga maintindihan bakit sa first month ng paggamit ng pills dapat pag may side effect an sa babae dpat consulta na ulit sa GP kasi pinapalitan ng ibang klase ng pills. Ang akala ko ba mga educated sila? Kaya nga panahon na na ipasa ang Rh-Bill, kasi nga maraming walang kaalaman tungkol sa mga bagay na iyan; Basta sabi sa Bicol dali- nga dali.

    • Katangahan nga ninyong mag-asawa ang nangyaring pagkamatay nang first son sana ninyo. Kong bakit kasi gumamit kayo TITO at HELEN nang gamot gayong wala pa kayong anak… Tanga at BOBO ang tawag diyan. Ano kaya masasabi nang taga simbahan nang malaman nang mga Pari at Obispo na minsan ay gumamity ang mag-asawa nang ipinagbabawal na gamot para hindi magkaanak?

      • Irony, Sotto was attacking RH bill but in his speech at the Senate he admitted his wife was using contraceptive pill “Diane”.

        Hilarious position of Sotto to Helen’s situation all in false & inconsistent opposition!

        Very lousy explanation! Sotto should opt for termination! With people’s acclamation!

        And face for firing position!

  3. Yikes, what an embarrassment for the Philippine Senate as an institution. How can you stand up in front of your peers and read off a paper whose sources you haven’t reviewed personally?

    Sotto the plagiarist meme: <http://qkme.me/3qih10

    • ANC just reported that the chief-of-staff of tito sotto wrote to sarah (the blogger) that it was them (the staff) who did the lifting, not the senator. what a lame ‘palusot’!

      • Now…Sotto will blame his staffers for the plagiarism. Own up to it, Tito. Be a man! Apologize already! You effed up, big time! And please spare the country of any more melodramas. Geez! You uttered the words, they’re on you!

  6. Hi Raissa, I really love reading your blog for its content and style and of course for the most part my views are aligned with yours but in addition, I see fairness when you dissect and lay out certain issues allowing room for opposing views to be at the very least given the light of day so to speak.

    I am a brother of someone you like and have written about in your blogs. Have been here in the USA as an Engineer for about 30 years now but have stayed in touch with what’s happening in the Philippines through the internet.

    I am most particularly disillusioned on how little has changed as to who rules the country. From over 90 million Filipinos we see the same names over and over. These people have made politics a lucrative business they would hand down to their sons and daugthers, They can argue that they have sent their children to the best instiutions and are therefore more than qualified to take over their positions. Enrile to Enrile, it makes me puke. I can go on and on. but I would be digressing. Sotto is no different, perhaps he thinks this a great topic where he could get noticed since I cannot expect much from a comedian turned politician even if as you say he was an English major.

    Keep up the good work. You and your hubby are indeed a fine pair in the business you are in.. Take care.

    • Thank you.

      You presented me with a puzzle, though. Whose brother are you? :)

      Don’t lose hope.

      I feel times are changing.

    • Bravo, Mr. Sotto. Guess what? You just humiliated our entire country. Now, I’m guessing a whole band of westerners are gonna bash us for what you did.

      Oh, and might I remind you that bloggers are merely bloggers? They’re freelance writers for pete’s sake! What they write on their blogs are merely comments that either have little or no statistical proof at all. What’s worse? Your arguments in your turno en contra were outdated. 1920s? Seriously? Lack of scientific proof, plagiarism, outdated data.. You, dear senator, have truly sullied our country’s reputation. I only wish that someone would do us Filipinos a huge favor and sue you.

  7. I do believe Senator Vic Sotto has lied during the live interview by Karen Davila. Before the interview, he knows exactly that particular question will be raised, so his only answer is “PAREHO KAMI NG PINAGKUNAN.”
    He even mentioned ‘HINDI AKO NAG DUDUNONG-DUNUNGAN…Pero nagmamarunong. What an actor!! But his body language tell it all. HE LIED. . He knows now that whoever from his group of staff just copy the article in one of the blogs, words for word and even the comma. .
    There he is openly against the RH bill without further researching, facts-finding, asking questions from medical practitioners or health care workers, and instead mainly relying on the articles in one of the Blogs, from newspaper clippings and editorial comment? Disappointing!!! NAGDUDUNONG-DUNUNGAN hindi naman madunong at walang alam masyado sa issue.
    He got caught copying and lying and the best thing for him to do now is just to keep his mouth shut. NAKAKAHIYA ka Senator Vic Sotto HINDI MO ALAM ANG SINASABI AT GINAGAWA MO.

      • Dami ng tawa ko dito. Oo nga naman Vic Sotto. Kahit pa VIcente Sotto name niya, he’s still knows as TIto Sotto.

      • ‘Di bali, silang dalawa na lang, si Vic pumapel na to defend his Tito brod’s shameful acts! kampihan mag kapatid…

        • Naku kumampi pa ang kapatid na babaero’t pumapatol sa bata more than half his age. Isa lang ang masasabi ko…Pepsi Paloma.

        • Sen Sotto was an English MAJOR? Well, he should not have stopped his studies — until he become at least an English COLONEL! Onto being an English GENERAL! ;)

    • Thats really what the problem is – we, the Filipino have no respect for any kind of intellectual property. We buy fake goods, counterfeit which explains the mushrooming of all these stalls in Virra Mall, Divisoria and peddlers on Ayala ave. Why do you think the movie studios have started to premiere movies in Asia before the the USA? To stop pirates from making a quick buck on bootlegs

      • Iyong iba bumibili ng fake things to show of! Dito sa Europe mahigpit pag nakitang branded esp sa airport, tanungin ka kung nasaan ang resebo at tingnan nila kung totoo or fake iyan. Kaya gnayan din ang gaw nio Sotto manggaya ,g gawa ng iba para masabing magaling siya, sikat. His speech most come from his heart. di ba kaya nga n,ag-speech siya wala nmang kaalaman at pansarili lang ang ginagawa nakakhiyang senator.

    • Please naman. Take it easy with our poor Senator. English MAJOR lang siya eh… hindi pa English COLONEL!

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