Metro Manila, Philippines – Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III decried the spread of disinformation targeting him and other Senate leaders — including false claims that he is pushing for a 50% tax on content creators and an alleged plot to unseat him.
“Mayroong propaganda talaga against the Senate [There really is a propaganda against the Senate],” Sotto told reporters on Friday, Oct. 10.
He said the disinformation campaign appears aimed at discrediting the Senate and has specifically targeted him, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson, and Majority Leader Migz Zubiri.
“Napansin namin mula September 8, pagdating ng mga Thursday, Friday, Saturday, may mga fake news against me, against Sen. Lacson, against Sen. Zubiri. Tapos pagdating na lunes, meron daw coup,” Sotto said.
[Translation: We noticed that starting September 8, every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, there are fake news items against me, against Sen. Lacson, and against Sen. Zubiri. Then come Monday, there are rumors of a coup.]
“I think there is concerted effort by some quarters. I don’t know who. We’ll try to find out,” he added.
The Senate leader categorically denied social media posts alleging he proposed a 50% tax on the monetization of all content creators.“None whatsoever. Me personally, and even the Senate itself wala akong naalalang may nagfile. As a matter of fact kung ako magpa-file, bawas tax [I don’t recall anyone filing such a proposal. In fact, if I were to file something, it would be to reduce taxes],” he said. Meanwhile, the Senate adjourned for a month-long break on Friday with no changes in leadership, despite persistent rumors circulating on social media about a supposed coup.
