A video on YouTube is erroneously claiming that Sen. Lito Lapid has been expelled from his post and sentenced to imprisonment. This is not true.
The spurious video, which was posted on July 4 and continues to spread this week, bore the headline:
“MAYOR ALICE GUO, LITO LAPID PINATALSIK NA SA SENADO (Mayor Alice Guo, Lito Lapid has been kicked out of the Senate)”
The following superimposed text can also be read on the video’s thumbnail:
“LAGOT NA! SENATOR LITO LAPID KULONG! NABUKING BIGBOSS (sic) PALA NG POGO AT PROTEKTOR NI MAYOR ALICE GUO
(Finished! Senator Lito Lapid is imprisoned! Revealed to be the big boss behind POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) and protector of Alice Guo)”
The 21-minute video never showed any evidence to substantiate its claims. Instead, it played only a video of a vlogger alleging that Lapid owned hectares of land in Porac, Pampanga where a POGO hub was illegally operating and that he was supposedly involved in its criminal activities.
A sitting senator such as Lapid may be suspended or expelled only with the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senate, according to the 1987 Constitution. No judge ordered his imprisonment.
In late June, Lapid denied the allegation made against him and said he would resign if he was proven to be connected to the illegal activities of POGO hubs.
The erroneous video continues to spread this week as Sen. Risa Hontiveros cited Guo and seven others in contempt for repeatedly failing to appear before the June 26 and July 10 Senate hearings on illegal POGO hubs, despite being subpoenaed.
YouTube channel TATAK TRENDING PH (created on Nov. 13, 2014) published the video that garnered over 21,000 views and 680 comments and could have potentially reached over 367,000 YouTube users. The thumbnail was also reposted by Facebook page Showbizfinds (March 19, 2022) and could have reached over 157,000 users.
