FACT CHECK: Magalong statement on Villanueva joining Gatchalian bloc is fake

Claim: Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong issued a statement criticizing Senator Joel Villanueva on his recent move to join the Senate majority bloc led by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The post, made by the Facebook page “Katutubong PH” on June 17, garnered more than 1,400 reactions, 300 comments, and 100 shares as of writing.

Similar posts also emerged bearing the same claim, providing alleged direct quotes from the Baguio mayor, with one from a personal account that amassed more than 700 comments and 900 shares.

The post cites a supposed statement from Magalong, in which he said that Villanueva’s move to join the Senate majority bloc proves that he is involved in a system of corruption in the country and is only attempting to wash his hands of the issue.

“Kapag malinis ang konsensya, hindi kailangang maghanap ng bagong kakampi para protektahan ang sarili,” Magalong allegedly said in the statement directed at Villanueva.

(If you have a clean conscience, you don’t need to look for new allies just to protect yourself.)

“Sayang. Ang linis mong tingnan, pero sa mata ng marami, nadagdagan lang ang kanilang pagdududa,” he added.

(What a pity! You seemed to have a clean image in the eyes of many, but you just added more doubt.)

The facts: Magalong has not made any public commentary on the recent leadership changes in the Senate.  In an email to Rappler on June 22, the Baguio City Mayor’s Office also confirmed that the circulating posts and the supposed statement attributed to Magalong are fake.

Recent Senate changes: Villanueva is the latest senator to join the new Senate majority bloc, following a special session on June 17 that led to the election of  Gatchalian as the new Senate president. Villanueva, who was previously part of the Cayetano-led faction, gave Gatchalian the 13th vote needed to secure the presidency.

An hour before the session, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano announced that he was giving up his claim to the Senate presidency after being informed of Villanueva’s move to join the new majority. 

This came after a weeks-long leadership row in the upper chamber, with Cayetano’s bloc earlier insisting that he was the “legitimate and moral” Senate president and disputing the results of a June 3 session that turned the Gatchalian-led faction into the new majority. – Lourence Angelo Marcellana/Rappler.com

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