Philippine lawmakers voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte following mass street protests in January 2025, but a video viewed hundreds of thousands of times in social media posts does not show Congressman Bonifacio Bosita at one of the demonstrations. The video in fact shows Bosita, who is running for a Senate seat in May’s mid-term elections, at a rally calling for a universal pension for senior citizens. Congress records show he did not sign the impeachment complaint against the vice president.
“Bosita at the rally for Sara’s impeachment,” reads overlaid Tagalog-language text on a Facebook video shared on January 31, 2025.
The video shows Bosita, who is running for a Senate seat in May’s mid-term elections, walking arm in arm with other politicians at a protest.
It was shared the same day thousands of protesters took to the streets of Manila to urge lawmakers to begin the process of removing Duterte from office (archived link).
Duterte, who had spectacularly fallen out with President Ferdinand Marcos, was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5 on charges of violating the constitution, betraying public trust, graft and corruption, and other high crimes (archived link).
Accusations spelled out in the House resolution include an alleged Duterte plot to assassinate Marcos, first lady Liza Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez that has been the subject of an investigation.
Her impeachment by the House paves the way for a Senate trial that could see her removed from office.
The same video was also shared on TikTok and Facebook.
Comments on the posts indicated many users believed Bosita, a former police colonel who gained a huge social media following for helping motorists challenge what he claimed were unfair traffic penalties, was actively pushing for Duterte’s impeachment.
One wrote: “Bosita has no integrity.”
“Your political career hasn’t even begun, Mr Bosita, and now it’s over. Good thing you showed your true colours,” said another, suggesting his purported presence at the impeachment rally would have a detrimental impact on his hopes of being elected to the Senate.
The contest often boils down to name recognition, with candidates from political dynasties, entertainment, or viral social media gaining an edge (archived link). Polls suggest this trend will persist in May’s elections.
The circulating video, however, was not filmed during the impeachment protests on January 31 and there are no official reports that Bosita took part in them.
Read the full story on AFP Fact Check.