It has been less than 4 days since the first news broke out when a blogger reported that parts of Tito Sotto's speech against the RH bill was taken from a US Blogger named Sarah Pope and her website, Thehealthyhomeeconomist. Senator Sotto was interviewed about the Plagiarism and he totally denied it and even utter the phrase "sue me". There was backlashes, back and forth conversations and even more allegations of plagiarism. In here we we will list updates about the Tito Sotto Plagiarism Scandal.
A day or two after his teary, weeping speech in the Senate against the RH bill on august 13, One blogger reported that parts of Sotto's speech was taken from a US blog called "Thehealthyhomeeconomist" and its writter named Sarah.
Then Karen Davila a host of headstart interviewed Tito Sotto about his speech against the RH bill and the plagiarism story.(You can watch the tito sotto headstart interview video here). In that interview, Tito Sotto categorically denied he plagiarized a blogger and even uttered the phrase, "Why Would I quote a blogger? She is just a blogger". He also said that the information he and Sarh from Thehealthyhomeeconomist was one and the same which is a Daniel Mcbride book called Gut and Psychology syndrome.
But Sarah, the US blogger said that there was Plagiarism going on. Even though they might have used the same information, Sarah has created those paragraphs and not Daniel Mcbride that Sotto has plagiarized.( I have read that book and the paragraphs found in blog, thehealtyhomeeconomist was nowhere seen in that book.)
Suddenly Senator Tito Sotto's chief of staff named Attorney Hector Villacorta admitted the plagiarism in an interview and added and it is them and their writers that stolen that content. He also said that Tito Sotto cannot be sued of plagiarism because it is in the "public domain"
I don't know if the interview or the comment of Sotto's chief of staff Attorney Hector Villacorta came first but in the said comment, Sotto's chief of staff said:
"I am atty hector a. villacorta. i am the chief of staff of senator tito sotto. i understand you felt slighted that your blog was not attributed to you which became part of the speech of the senator. let me say that after asking my staff, indeed, your blog was used but only in quoting also from the same book of dr. campbell- mcbride. we are both indebted to the book’s author but if you wish that you also be credited with the contents of the book, let this be your affirmation. i can do it and by this message, i am doing it. hope it satisfies you. but if it does not, what would you want us to do? what have we done to deserve your incriminating words. the senator did not lift it himself, we did. did you want us to tell him to admit what he did not do? who would you like to crucify for this oversight? all the unborn wants very much the right to be born and they need everybody’s help, including yours. remember, rizal was the seventh child of 11 children of teodora alonso and francisco mercado. be on our side. please, and don’t deflect the debate to this matter of plagiarism. it is so out of sync in this great debate. join us in the side of life and truth. forgive us our single trespass. we had no malice, we thought you would be happy about it. there was no injury. hope this makes you feel better. warm regards.
Atty. Hector A. Villacorta
Chief of Staff Office of Senator Sotto"
And in another comment after Sarah Replied
dear sarah;
a blog is meant to be shared and we shared it.
Sarah then talked about the senator acting above the law in an interview. Talked about how the Senator changed the meaning of his article and changed the words to make it appeal to his case. While she said that she will not sue for now, she is asking for a letter of apology from the Senator.
It was also found out that Senator Sotto's second RH bill speech is plagiarized too. Plagiarizing 3 blogs which are talkingsense.multiply.com, feministsforchoice.com, and thetruthofcongraceptives.blogspot.ca.
