A viral quote card is circulating on Facebook claiming that former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano needs to be replaced outright and Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto should be reinstated. This is false.
The post features a photo of Trillanes on the right side alongside a quote falsely attributed to him calling for the replacement of Cayetano.
First posted by an FB page on May 15, the quote card bore the text which reads:
“Sa darating na lingo kylangan mapalitan na ang SP. ibalik si Sotto. Hindi gagawa ng tama yan si Cayetano
(Next week, the Senate President must be replaced. Bring back Sotto. Cayetano will not do anything right).”
It further carried the caption:
“Trillanes nais palitan agad ang bagong Senate President na si Cayetano.
Nanindigan ang dating senador na mas gagawa ng tama si tito sotto (sic) kysa sa kasalukuyan SP.
Ilan araw palang ang nakakaraan ng mapalitan si Sotto bilang SP at ipalit si Cayetano ngunit itong mga pinklawan ay labis ma nababahala at gusto na agad palitan at alisin sa pwesto ang bagong upo na si Allan (sic).
Ano kaya ang dahilan ng mga ito, bakit parang wala ng karapatan ang iba na mamuno kundi sila nalang.
politicaltoxic #GobyernongKURAP
(Trillanes wants to immediately replace the new Senate President, Cayetano.
The former senator insisted that Tito Sotto would do a better job than the current senate president.
Only a few days have passed since Sotto was replaced as senate president and Cayetano took over, but these ‘pinklawans’ are already extremely worried and want Allan immediately replaced and removed from office.
What could be the reason for this? Why does it seem like no one else has the right to lead except them?
PoliticalToxicity #CorruptGovernment)”
The former senator did criticize Cayetano over his handling of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa due to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, and accused the lawmaker from Taguig of allegedly turning the Senate into a “sanctuary for a fugitive” and creating a ‘constitutional crisis. However, there is no interview or report of Trillanes calling for Cayetano’s immediate replacement amid the Senate coup.
Cayetano was elected Senate President on May 11 after Senators voted 13-9-2, replacing Sotto amid political tensions surrounding the impeachment proceedings of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Trillanes has frequently appeared in media interviews criticizing Duterte allies, making him a target of hyperpartisan content and fabricated quote card posts from pro-Duterte pages and supporters.
VERA Files has also fact-checked false claims and satirical posts involving Trillanes that circulated this month.
Published by FB pages Political Toxic (created Sept. 27, 2025), Juan Nation (created April 29, 2009), Mum Zhels Vlog (created January 10, 2020), Boys Next Door (created Aug. 5, 2018) and several other FB accounts, these posts have collectively garnered over 12,370 reactions; 6,033 comments; and 214 shares.
