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!
Dear Sarah Hope,
It’s so sad that the whole Filipino nation has been put to embarrassment because the majority floor leader of the Philippine Senate and his staff denied having copied excerpts from your blog then to admit on just the same. This is a result of Filipinos basing popularity on whom to vote- another reason why movie stars and boxers have taken over sensitive posts in government.
Hi Sarah! I cannot say how much I am ashamed to be born in the same country as Tito Sotto. I never voted for him and never will. He’s a comedian turned politician and still makes comedy in our government. Just today he made another speech in the senate claiming he is a victim of cyber bullying?! The nerve. Not to mention that he still appears on the no. 1 daily noon time show in our country just to get our people to like him. You deserve an apology from him and I myself as a Filipino is sorry just because we are Filipinos. Pls do not misjudged our people. There are a lot of good Filipinos our there.
You’re doing great in a lot of your blogs and helping so many people especially mothers like me. Keep up the good work!
Hi Sarah! I’m also from the Philippines and I think Sen. Sotto is such a shameful arrogant idiot. You deserve, at the very least, an apology for this matter. But knowing how boastful many of our politicians are (I’m not generalizing here), it’s hard for you to get that apology. I just hope the senator will have a taste of his own medicine. He’s such an embarrassment to the country.
Maybe DC comics should give the good senator a call
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl8iVulLf7I&feature=relmfu
After all these controversy, publicity and website hits, it must be good for your business. I would take your lawyer’s advice and milk as much publicity as you can from it while it is fresh.
Is it true that your blog is not copyrighted? Here is Sotto’s claim:
“The problem is she just copied it. Second, it’s a blog and has no copyright,” he said. Read full article @ technology.inquirer.net
Hi Sarah – you had been soo kind and respectful to Tito Sotto. First of all, he is definitely not esteemed and he is not respectable – he is an arrogant idiot and a lowlife! He is an embarrassment. He doesn’t deserve any respect and i just don’t understand why on earth the people voted him to the senate.
By the way, love your blog.
Tito Sotto is a dimwitted pea-brained amoeba causing shame in Philippine Politics by merely being a senate member. He is no different from the likes of Lito Lapid, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla Jr. – senators who took advantage of the uneducated poor; used their ‘acting charm’ to be hailed to power. Sickening.
agree with you. they are a bunch of unqualified stooges who mistakenly thought politics is an extension of showbiz. include manny pacquiao in the roster, politician for years already and yet no news about any contribution for the country except winning in boxing rings.
hello mr. senator. remember me??? regards to tito and joey???
and btw, how’s angela luz’s kid?