A video of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is being amplified by multiple Facebook pages and users claiming that members of the Senate media clapped for him after he parried criticisms that he is not a unifying leader. This claim is untrue, media reports show.
First published on June 4, the post featured a portion from a press conference on the same day where Cayetano rejected claims that he is not a unifying leader, saying he was able to unite various political factions, such as “the left, the yellows, the pinks, the former activists, [and] those from here” who are “all now united on the side of Malacañang.”
His remark came amid the deepening divisions among senators following the June 3 leadership changes in the upper chamber when the surprise appearance of Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero enabled a 12-person quorum to declare all elected positions vacant and installed Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore and subsequently designated him as acting Senate president. Both Malacañang and the House of Representatives recognized and welcomed the election of the Gatchalian-led new majority.
After Cayetano projected himself as a “unifier,” some people in the audience clapped, cheered and chanted “SP! SP!,” The senator laughed and remarked, “First time I was applauded by the media… that’s not paid.”
From June 4 to 5, several pages reposted Cayetano’s video statement along with similar captions stating that members of the press applauded him, with some still referring to him as the Senate president.
Contrary to what these false posts are amplifying, at least four news outlets reported that those who applauded and cheered were members of Cayetano’s staff and some guests, not journalists.
The inaccurate posts circulated on the same day the Blue Ribbon Committee, led by the Cayetano bloc, held a hearing on the flood control corruption scandal during which the lawyer of the self-confessed bagmen of Zaldy Co presented their testimonies that they had worked with the former Ako Bicol Party-list representative. The aides were said to have delivered monies contained in several pieces of luggage to lawmakers.
Legal experts noted the absence of the Senate secretariat or stenographers to document the proceedings, prompting them to consider the hearing “irregular.”
Prior to the June 3 leadership change, former Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III suggested that Cayetano consider relinquishing the post to “a better unifier to run the Senate.”
The spurious claim spread by FB users and pages, including The Political Outlook (created on Oct. 16, 2024), Bisdak PH One for Duterte Forever (created on Oct. 25, 2017 as MindanaOne for Duterte), and Duterte Supporters (May 16, 2026), collectively garnered 36,049 reactions; 2,177 comments; 5,636 shares and over 736,816 views as of writing.
