First, let me extend a very warm welcome to the many new Filipino readers that have discovered this blog in the past 24 hours. My husband is from Australia, so I do get down to that part of the world on occasion and I hope to visit your beautiful country at some point in the future.
It is great to have you here, although the circumstances of our meeting are, to say the least, unusual.
It seems one of your esteemed Senators, Tito Sotto, plagiarized a blog post I wrote on February 23, 2011 entitled How The Pill Can Harm Your Future Child’s Health, lifting entire sections of the article basically word for word that was delivered in a speech to the Senate Floor regarding the possible passage of the highly controversial Reproductive Health Bill.
What’s worse, Senator Sotto is denying the charge of plagiarism, saying in an interview with ABS-CBN:
“Why would I quote the blogger? I was quoting Natasha McBride.”
Nice touch Senator. Â You almost had me convinced you were a nice guy with the tears and all.
Many of your citizens have emailed me assuring me that was a put on, and I’m starting to think they are right.
A thief is a thief, Mr. Senator. Â Denying it doesn’t get you off the hook; it just makes you a lying thief.
On the bright side, I am thrilled that your lapse of moral judgment has brought much-needed attention to the fact that the birth control pill can have devastating consequences to a woman’s long term health and possibly those of her children and even grandchildren.  Gut dysbiosis is a serious condition that has multi-generational consequences that women need to be educated about and completely aware of before making the very personal decision to use them.
It was indeed brave of you to take this controversial position. Â Kudos to you for that.
By the way, I am truly sorry for the loss of your son.
As the mother of two sons myself, I can only imagine the pain and devastation you have felt from such an experience.
While this has been a highly charged and hopefully enlightening experience for all involved, it’s time now to set the drama aside and get back to fighting the good fight by continuing to educate people about how their food and pharma choices affect not only themselves but also those they dearly love.
And although my attorney will likely try to persuade me otherwise, for now I’m moving on as I’ve got work to do.
Women of the Philippines: I am terribly sorry my blog was used and twisted against you. You deserve the choice to use The Pill if you want or need to based on your particular circumstances. While I want you to know that this choice has health consequences as does the decision to use any pharmaceutical drug, I in no way would ever condone taking this choice away from you! Â Mabuhay!
Hello from Manila. Just one correction: Tito Sotto is not esteemed.
First of all, this is very tragic. I can’t help but feel embarrassed by this egregious faux pas by Sen. Sotto. Unforgivable..I hope this does not take the focus away from the real issues regarding the RH bill.
Secondly, I want to just say my apology now for all the civilized people here and who will read this comment, but what in the mother of **** is this Atty Villacorta saying? UnFORKING Believable!!! Livid…
Sorry from Sen Sotto won’t cut it, he should bloody step down.
has sarah’s fb page been removed? can’t access it.
Free contraceptives worldwide. That’s my vote.
I’m thankful for this brouhaha because I discovered your site. I’m actually reading your blog posts! Hehe. I try to eat healthy as much as I can (and try to cook when I can, it’s healthier than eating out). I also prefer alternative methods over Western medicine (except that our health card can only cover Western medicine). But I also believe in the RH Bill and that it’s about time the women of my country spoke up. Thank you so much.
It’s funny that this matter has become a thread now. Our senator, indeed, has become an overnight sensation once again. Kudos to him for a job stupidly done.
Ana, yah. But one has to shoulder the expenses if Sarah would come here to apprehend Sotto. That would take some time to process, and until when does she have to stay in the country to attend the hearings and all? Sotto’s assertions against RH Bill are now tainted.
Correct me if I’m wrong but plagiarism in the country does not support the electronic media.
I’m an RH Bill supporter by the way.
Our Intellectual Property Rights Code covers electronic media like blogs. But this law is part of the Civil Code, i.e., it is not a criminal offense to plagiarize. But the affected party (Sarah) can file for civil damages, which is an option for her.
If you notice, her original blog is already preserved. If you visit it, it is only in read-only mode as it has been locked.
Ms. Sara, I apologize on behalf of our countrymen who have turned your blog into a debate site for the reproductive health bill in the Philippines. While I approve of debate, I believe that it should be held in proper places, and while you have stated your position on the pill, you have also stated your position on how to respect the choice of the individual.
Given that, I think we Pinoys should stick to the topic of the post, and direct our fiery opinions elsewhere.
If I were Sotto, I’d push for my imminent resignation than put myself to shame and be a hot item in the social media and blogspots. Sotto, you can’t get away from what you did during your “turno en contra” speech, netizens will surely punish you. It’s either you admit it or admit.
That’s why Sarah has to sue Sotto. With Sotto out, then no one can spread the lies about the serious side effects of contraception to the woman and to the child. We, the supporters of the RH bill, should do everything in our power to remove anyone in our government who will not approve the bill. Getting Sarah to show that Sotto plagiarized her work is the first step. We should then push Sarah to sue Sotto so that we can get rid of him. Contraception should be made easily accessible to the Filipino people. That’s what the RH bill is for. Contraception for all.
Anna Lyna, keep it cool! Sarah knows what she is doing. Let’s just support her and respect whatever step she decides to take about this course.
Go Sarah! I really admire how you graciously handle the situation. You’re one smart woman. 🙂
Getting Sotto out is taking out another politician who says that contraceptives are bad.