Senate President Vicente Sotto III during a “Meet the Press” forum on Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. Photo from Sen. Lacson’s office.
MANILA, Philippines — Holding big political rallies are not only expensive, as chances are that those big assemblies also have the same people showing up every time.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto gave this explanation on Tuesday when asked why he and his running mate, Senator Panfilo Lacson, would prefer town hall meetings over grand political rallies.
“Ayaw namin ng malalaking political rallies,” Sotto, who is running for vice president, said in an interview over DRZH.
(We don’t want huge political rallies)
“Una gagastos ka eh. Eh ‘yung mga uma-attend ng political rally ng libo-libo dito, kinabukasan sila din ‘yung attend sa kabila eh,” he further said.
(First, you need to spend. The thousands of people attending the political rallies here will also show up in another rally the following day.)
Another consideration why they are avoiding political rallies is the need to continue to observe health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sotto said.
Instead of holding political rallies, he said they would rather hold dialogues or town hall meetings so they could talk to the people directly.
“Ang iniimbita namin na gustong makinig, mga leaders ng barangay, leaders ng vendors, leaders ng TODA (Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association), seniors, basta sectoral representation pati yung government officials iniiimbita namin,” Sotto said.
(We invite those who want to listen like barangay leaders, leaders of vendors, leaders of TODA, seniors, and other sectoral representatives, including government officials)
“At kami hindi lang basta tatayo ka, magsasalita ka…hindi ‘yun ang gusto nilang marinig sa’yo. Ganun ‘yung political rally nung araw eh. Eh iniwasan namin ‘yun. Gusto namin after naming magpakilala, pwede silang magtanong. Anything under the sun,” Sotto further explained.
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