GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 20 Nov) – Philippine Senator Tito Sotto finally offered his apology to the Kennedys after the daughter of the late US senator and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy demanded that the former acknowledge plagiarizing her father’s speech.
But the apology was loaded with double entendre to say the least. Even Kerry Kennedy found his supposed apology lame and insincere when the senator said he did not know that part of his speech was lifted from the late US senator.
At the Senate rostrum, Sotto said copying is a highest form of flattery.
What is that again?
Is he copying Robert Kennedy or copying himself, thus flattering his supersized ego?
Before Sotto joined the world of politics, he was a composer. Not really exceptional but good enough. But he made his mark as one-third of the zany trio that made people forget about the Marcos dictatorship in their defunct show Iskul Bukol. The trio was known as Tito, Vic (Tito’s brother) and Joey who, to this day, are still at it with their noontime show Eat Bulaga, one of the country’s longest running variety show.
In Iskul Bukol, Tito, Vic and Joey portrayed the overstaying college students who erased the word graduation from their dictionary.
Trouble is, they also made us believe playing prank and dumbasses in school is cool.
Sotto’s Kennedy fiasco was not the first of his many copied speeches while delivering privilege speeches or registering his opinion as in the case of the RH bill where he also clearly lifted a large portion of his speech from a published article of an American blogger.
It now looks that Sotto is not only a recidivist “flunker” during his Iskul Bukol days.
He is proving himself as an unrepentant plagiarist in the Philippine Senate.
It also appears that Sotto is continuing to imitate his Iskul Bukol character even though he is already a member of the Senate.
What’s that again? Copying is the highest form of flattery?
Is he flattering himself as his Iskul Bukol’s dumbass character?
Funny, really, how life imitates art.
(Edwin G. Espejo writes for www.asiancorrespondent.com)