A YouTube video claims that Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero has bid the Senate goodbye after he was allegedly dismissed from his post by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. This is false.
There are no reports confirming this. The clip shown in the video is old.
Published on Aug. 5, the 29-minute video opens with Escudero supposedly delivering his farewell message. The title and thumbnail of the video carried an erroneous text that read:
“KAKAPASOK LANG! CHIZ ESCUDERO NAGPAALAM NA NG TULUYAN NG SINIBAK NI PBBM SA PWESTO.”
An anonymous narrator stated:
“Ito ang nakakagulat na balita ngayon. Senator Chiz Escudero nagpaalam na sa pagiging Senate President. PBBM tinanggal na si Escudero, matapos sumabog sa galit si PBBM kay Chiz Escudero dahil sa kanyang isangdaan at apatnapu’t dalawang milyon budget insertion sa 2025.“
The official website of the Senate shows that Escudero is still Senate President. He retained his position after receiving 19 votes in the election held by the Senate shortly after the opening of the first regular session of the 20th Congress last July 28.
He presided over the plenary session on Aug. 6, when the majority voted to archive the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte, a day after the incorrect video was posted.
The clip featured at the beginning of the video was taken from Escudero’s closing remarks at the third regular session of the 19th Congress on June 11, where he addressed outgoing senators. The footage was edited to make it appear that he was bidding farewell.
“When I bid goodbye and bid farewell to the Senate in 2019 when I ran for governor, I said I will not say goodbye. I will not say goodbye to those who will not crossover to the 20th Congress [unlike] the impeachment. Instead, I will say, “I will see you again,” Escudero said.
Moreover, the president cannot dismiss a senator, who like him is an elected official. A legislator can only be expelled or suspended by a two-thirds vote of all the Senate members, according to Article VI, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution.
“Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a Member,” the provision states.
Posted by YouTube channel TATAK TRENDING PH (created Nov. 13, 2014), the false video has so far garnered 210,000 views, 4,900 likes, and 1,441 comments.
