MANILA – Sarangani’s Cong. Steve Chiongbian Solon has denied being the lawmaker caught on camera allegedly watching an online cockfight or sabong during the House of Representatives’ opening session for the 20th Congress, blaming public confusion on misleading headlines using the generic term “solon”.
Speculation surged online after a photo of a male legislator appeared to show him streaming a sabong match on his phone during Monday morning’s session, coinciding with the high-profile vote for House Speaker. The image quickly went viral, with some social media users erroneously naming Solon as the man in the photo.
“It has come to my attention that people are tagging my name to a viral post. So let me clarify this once and for all — I [neither] gamble nor do I approve of online gambling,” Solon said in a Facebook post late Tuesday night.
The lawmaker clarified that he was not the individual shown and attributed the mistaken identity to how headlines and graphics used the term “solon”, which simply means “lawmaker”.
“Pag may nag-headline ng ganito ‘Solon, naispatang nanood ng online sabong…’ ang ibig sabihin ng SOLON ay LAWMAKER in English,” he explained.
“Hindi lahat ng nakasulat na ‘solon’ ay ako,” he stressed.
He also urged the public to be more critical when consuming news: “Let’s be functional readers, not instant reactors.”
Solon did not place blame on the publications that produced the content, instead focusing on public interpretation.
As of this writing, the identity of the lawmaker seen in the viral image remains undisclosed. The House currently has 317 members./PN
