Three quote cards making the rounds on Facebook claiming that Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said it is embarrassing to the public that he was ousted as Senate president. This is fake.
Published by an FB page on May 11, the graphic featured a photo of Sotto and his supposed statement:
“Nakakahiya sa taong bayan at tinanggal nyo ako (It’s embarrassing to the public that you removed me.)”
With a one-minute interval, the same FB page reposted the quote card in a Facebook group supportive of Vice President Sara Duterte. Below the quote attributed to Sotto is a text alleging that he made this remark after his ouster on May 11.
Both posts were captioned:
“Dating Senate President tito sotto (sic) naging emotional ng sabihin nakakahiya sa taong bayan ng sya ay tanggalin bilang presidente.
Sa tingin siguro ng dating presidente, sya ay lubos na pinagkakatiwalaan ng taong bayan. Kaya sya nakapagbanggit ng ganon pahayag.
Ano ang masasabi mo dito? Bilang isang pilipino (sic). Tama lang bang palitan na si tito sen (sic)?
(Former Senate president Tito Sotto became emotional when he said that it was embarrassing before the public for him to have been removed as president.
Perhaps the former Senate president believed that he had the people’s full trust, which is why he made such a statement.
What can you say about this? As a Filipino, do you think it was right to replace Tito Sen.?)
#politicaltoxic #GobyernongKURAP (#CORRUPTGovernment)”
From May 11 to 15, several users republished the graphic across FB, Instagram and Threads, with one account even turning it into a reel. Some users copied the same caption or portions of it, while other netizens and pages created two versions of the graphic using different layouts and designs but carrying the same content.
No official interviews or credible media reports substantiate the fabricated quote.
In an emailed response to VERA Files on May 20, the office of the Senate Minority Leader said Sotto “did not issue, mention, or make any statement similar to” the circulating graphic.
Sotto actually made a statement resembling the wording used in the graphic, which may have served as basis for the spurious quote.
When asked what would become of the Senate if it failed to convene as an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte, Sotto replied, “Nakakahiya sa taong bayan kapag nagkagano’n ang Senado.” The upper chamber eventually convened on May 18 and formally commenced the impeachment pre-trial proceedings.
The bogus remark emerged on the same day Sotto was unseated by 13 of the 24 senators and replaced by now-Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.
As of publishing, the two posts by FB page Political toxic (created on Sept. 27, 2025) carrying the original fraudulent graphic have received 5,209 reactions; 1,074 comments and 122 shares. The other variations of the quote card have also collectively drawn significant traction.
