Video shows Philippine lawmaker calling for universal pension, not demanding vice president's impeachment

"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.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on February 18, 2025

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.

Universal pension rally

Keyword searches led to a similar video, titled "Universal Social Pension, Right Now!", shared on the United Senior Citizens Party-list Facebook page (archived link).

The video, which was recorded on January 20 and posted on January 26, predates the protests calling for Duterte's impeachment.

It shows the same protest featured in the falsely shared video, albeit from a different angle.

According to its Tagalog-language caption, the footage shows a "prayer rally" at the Senate compound to pressure senators to pass a proposal granting a social pension to all senior citizens. It was attended by several lawmakers, including Bosita. 

Existing pension schemes for the elderly only include those for public and private sector employees as well as the government-run pension for "indigent senior citizens" (archived here, here and here).

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the footage posted on January 26 (right), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP

Bosita was also shown attending the rally in reports by The Manila Times and the government-run Radyo Pilipinas (archived here and here). 

Bosita called claims he attended impeachment protests "fake news" on February 8 (archived link).

Congress records show he is not one of the more than 200 lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint against Vice President Duterte (archived link).

In an interview aired on the Bilyonaryo News Channel on February 10, Bosita explained that he did not think Duterte should be impeached (archived link). 

"Will it benefit the people if she gets impeached? We need to look at the bigger picture. There's so much division, there are more important problems that need our attention," he said.

AFP previously debunked a false claim related to the embattled vice president's impeachment.