A Facebook post claims Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong criticized Sen. Joel Villanueva for turning his back on the minority in the Senate to join the majority bloc led by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian. This is fake.
The post published on June 16 is captioned:
“Saloobin ni Mayor Benjie Magalong ukol sa paglipat ni Sen. Joel Villanueva sa Gatchalian Bloc‼️
Kahit gaano pa khaba ang video presentation mo, hindi uubra yan sa taong bayan dahil alam nila ang totoong dahilan kung bakit ka lilipat, nag aaksaya ka lang ng effort
(Mayor Benjie Magalong’s sentiments regarding Sen. Joel Villanueva’s shift to the Gatchalian Bloc‼️
No matter how long your video presentation is, it won’t work on the people because they know the real reason why you’re switching sides. You’re just wasting your effort).”
The fake post’s lengthy caption further said the decision of Villanueva and Sen. Chiz Escudero joining Gatchalian’s bloc only proves they really stole money. It claimed only Sens. Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada were innocent this time because despite the offers for them, they chose their dignity and went to jail.
No official statement, interview, or report from credible media outlets indicates that Magalong made such comments.
The post contains images of Villanueva and Magalong. Villanueva’s photo was taken during a privilege speech on Feb. 12, 2024 in which he denounced what he said were false and rehashed allegations linking him to the pork barrel scam, while that of Magalong was taken on Aug. 25, 2025 when he was at the Senate session hall gallery to testify on systemic corruption and anomalies in flood control projects.
Two other Facebook posts bearing the same graphics and captions were published on the same date.
The fake posts surfaced after Magalong’s 27-minute interview last June 14 on ANC. In that interview, he merely questioned the senators’ intentions behind the leadership squabble in the Senate. He did not mention anything specific about Villanueva.
The post, published in the public group Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano Supporters with 138,400 members, has so far garnered 3,669 reactions, 761 comments and 1,900 shares. The other post has reached 7,720 reactions, 1,600 comments, and 1000 shares.
