MANILA, Philippines — Voters should ask their candidates “if they are true leaders” and where they were at the height of the pandemic, vice presidential candidate Senate President Vicente Sotto III said.
“Sa ating mga kababayan, why don’t you ask your candidates, if they are true leaders and nasaan sila nung pandemic,” Sotto said during the PiliPinas Forum 2022 organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with the the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) aired on Wednesday.
(To our fellow Filipinos, why don’t you ask your candidates, if they are true leaders and where they were during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
“Kung parepareho na lang kami ng platform, ‘yung mga programa nga namin ginagaya nung iba. Pero ang tanong na lang natin dito, sinong naninindigan? Sinong gumigitna sa panganib ‘pag tagilid, yun ang kailangan nating true leaders,” he added.
(If we have the same platforms, the others are just copying our programs. But the question here is, who stood their ground? Who stood in the middle of danger when things were risky? Those are the true leaders that we need.)
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In urging voters to cast their votes for him, Sotto said his track record “will speak for itself.”
During town hall meetings, Sotto had repeatedly stressed how he and his running mate, Senator Panfilo Lacson, have a combined 83 years in public service.
“Hindi ako mangangapa if they vote for me as vice president. Hindi ko pagpa-practisan yung Office of the Vice President,” Sotto went on.
(It wouldn’t be as if I were groping in the dark if they vote for me as vice president. I will not treat the Office of the Vice President as a training ground.)
“With my background, with the record that I have, the track record, I think I will be able to serve the country well. Let my record speak for itself,” he added.