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. 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. 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. 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! Mabuhay!
A lawyer talking against an obvious work of plagiarism? Oh, come on! Another wrong move from the side of the senator.
It is a good thing that I did not vote for Sotto. I have less respect for him now than before.
I am ashamed Sen Tito Sotto didn’t realize his team was tired that day he assigned the ‘research’ for his upcoming speech. Obviously, he wasn’t informed and someone had to be blamed.
If only he admitted his and his staff’s fault earlier, this would not have gone this way. Though I haven’t really watched the video of him in an interview saying “blogger lang yon (She’s just a blogger),” It was a wrong move for him. Better choose his words next time.
Wow, Sotto challenged you to sue him. That bastard.
if you know about law in the philippines, he is protected by the constititution. so please stop this issue. let’s move on. we’ve learned so much from this unfortunate event.
“In hindsight, perhaps we should have mentioned that we also got it from Sarah’s blog but it may be inelegant to say that.” – Villacorta to rappler.com
http://www.rappler.com/nation/10692-sotto-isn%E2%80%99t-sorry,-says-chief-of-staff
Mr. Villacorta, in one breath you said quoting content from bloggers is INELEGANT but copying and claiming the words as if they were your own is downright what? CLASSY? You dare label the respect of giving credit to a person’s work inelegant since her work is posted on the world wide web?? In which case, thinking their work is unworthy of the elegance you so dearly hold on to, you and your staff deliberately COPIED content from the very sorry sort of work you call – BLOGGER.
Well, of course you cannot quote her! because you first needed to twist, more likely distort the words on Sarah’s blog to suit your extremist’s pointless views and use it in front of the SENATE and the Filipino people!!
So for you to get the hell out of this mess, you call what is supposedly a noble thing to do, INELEGANT and you condescend the manner of which it should have been done in the first place!!!
You are so face palm worthy. 7 lawyers and researchers and this is what you offer the Philippines??!!
Twilight Zone lang ito diba? Sana.
A lawyer justifying plagiarism. Interesting.
Oh, my goodness gracious great balls of fire!
I am now totally ashamed of Sotto and his staff (Chief of Staff?).
1. He give a ridiculous lame excuse.
2. He talks arrogantly
3. He doesn’t capitalize.
4. He communicates a personal message thru the comments portion?
5. He’s supposed to be the Chief of Staff, the highest post in the office next to his Senator boss, who is the laughingstock of the Philippines, and thanks to Sarah’s blog…the world!
This must be a blessing from heaven because at least some of the people starstrucked with the comedian senator finally realize they’ve been “Eat Bulaga-d”!
What Senator Sotto (or at least the writer of his speech) did was stupid…but did you know that since 2010, plagiarism is now legal in the philippines? lol!! seriously! So technically, over here, what he did wouldn’t be considered as stealing. I suppose he should have at least admitted in plagiarizing your article. Hehehe 🙂
OMG!!!!! The Supreme Court deserves a million facepalms!!! That was really low…. now my blood pressure is rising.. grrrr.. Stupid Corona!!!!