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!
This is what happens when different social norms clashed with each other. Plagiarism is as common as piracy in countries like the Philippines. There is really nothing people can do about it. Philippine politicians are one of the worst in the world, just look at it’s economy. I am a Filipino and I am not one of those “proud to be pinoy” archetypes. I condemn the Philippine politics which is why I left the country. It’s hopeless. The people are ignorant and uneducated and they would vote for whomever is popular, as in the case of Tito Sotto.
I agree that it is Sotto’s responsibility. But he is nothing but a front. He would just point to the people behind him. This illustrates my point about ignorance in politics.
My advice: Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience. It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.
AnonymousEngineer,
I must admit that I am insulted, as a writer who’s based on the Philippines, that you assume that all of us are okay with this. Some of us are just as embarrassed as you are, maybe even more so since we still live in this country. Some of us are, on the other hand, trying to fix the problem with whatever little ways we can.
I am grateful that you have chosen to leave the country. You may be smart, as is expected of an engineer, but I believe we have enough people who complain too much but do too little in this country.
May you have a good day and God Bless.
AnonymousEngineer,
Thank you for this over sweeping judgement about Philippine politics and its whole as a nation. Could you do us a favor? The next time you come back here, please make sure that you are no longer a Filipino citizen. If you no longer hold a Philippine passport, good for you and good for us.
To the smart readers, I know that you can understand beyond what this comment is trying to imply. No nation and no man can be hopeless. Every country has its own struggles, challenges and opportunities. Therefore, judging an entire nation and putting a point blank period on its future is just plain….. Sorry I can’t say the word.
One thing is for sure, I pity the childhood or whatever bad memories this person had endured in my ever loved Philippines.
For the record, you may have changed your citizenship but the very blood that flows through your veins remains ‘Filipino’, until your dying day.
Nuff said. This goes for AnonymousWriter as well.
A lot of people already said what I wanted to say about this lying thief. But please, do consider suing this senator for plagiarism. For our own sake. Thank you.
Hello Sarah.. What the senator did is unforgivable.. But something bothers me.. Did his Chief of Staff really send you that apology letter? It’s too idiotic to be true.. A part of me thinks it’s a troll’s doing..
I salute you for taking the high road. Its really stupid denying what is obvious. The issue is really simple, it is not the government nor the Catholic religion that should decide for people. Their functions should just laying options and educating people. Its up to the them to decide what is right for them. After all, its their lives and they can do whatever they want.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4452793444035&set=a.1168134769621.26852.1415507175&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf
i don’t know if the apology above is true but it doesn’t seem like it. i thought you should know.
We’re deeply sorry our Senator’s a dud. And *thank you* for emphasizing personal choice. It’s one aspect of the Reproductive Health Bill we’ve been wanting to get across.
I truly admire how you are dealing with this. I also admire how you acknowledge a person’s right to choose. Although you believe in one thing, you are not closed in to the fact that, ultimately, it’s the woman’s decision to make.
I feel sorry for those people instead of saying a sorry or apology they still have tones to say that “THEY ARE JUST BLOGGERS”. Oh well, discriminating a person in other way. We do what we do best Blogging and please to the staff of the Senator Sotto do yours. Quoting a ones persons work doesn’t hurt.