FACT CHECK: Sotto did not call for VP Sara’s ‘immediate’ conviction without due process

A fabricated quote card falsely claiming Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente Sotto III called for the "immediate" conviction of Vice President Sara Duterte, bypassing due process, has been circulating on social media. Rappler's fact-check confirms this claim is false, with Sotto consistently advocating for adherence to constitutional and Senate rules. The post, a graphic shared by Facebook user "Eduardo Ortega Jr." on July 30, displays a photo of Sotto with overlaid text in Filipino: "Dapat ma convict na kaagad si VP Sara Duterte, huwag na natin sundin ang rules." (VP Sara Duterte should be convicted immediately, let’s no longer follow the rules.) As of this writing, the post has garnered 9,800 reactions, 5,000 comments, and 240 shares, reaching a significant audience. However, Rappler found no interview, official statement, or credible news report of Sotto making such a remark. The fabricated claim mirrors a recurring pattern of false quote cards involving Sotto concerning Duterte's impeachment. Previous viral posts falsely alleged Sotto had stated only 11, and later 14, votes from senator-judges were needed for conviction, claims that have also been debunked. In reality, Sotto, in his capacity as Senate President preparing to preside over the trial, repeatedly stressed that the impeachment process must follow the Constitution and the Senate’s rules, not bypass them. In a May 2 radio interview, Sotto stated he saw no shortcomings in the Senate’s impeachment rules and warned that changing them could "becloud the process." Days later, he reiterated that the Senate was constitutionally bound to convene as an impeachment court once it received the Articles of Impeachment, adding, "Let’s follow the Constitution." Sotto has also maintained that any conviction must meet the Constitution’s two-thirds voting requirement of 16 senator-judges. At the beginning of Duterte’s impeachment trial on July 6, presiding officer Chiz Escudero set the conviction threshold to 16. Sotto previously served as Senate President and was set to preside over Duterte’s trial before being ousted by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano in May 2026. Cayetano was later replaced by Senator Win Gatchalian following weeks of a power struggle within the upper chamber. During the first impeachment drive against Duterte in 2025, Sotto was among the senators who voted against archiving the articles of impeachment against the Vice President after the Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional. At the time, Sotto called the ruling a "sad day for constitutional law" and said it amounted to judicial overreach. Source: Rappler Philippines