MANILA, Philippines — Mayor Vico Sotto confronted on Monday “protesters” rallying against the construction of a new city hall in the area, only to find out that they were actually from Quezon City and not Pasig.
In a Facebook post, Sotto said he initially received information on Sunday that more than 300 Pasigueños would conduct a protest in front of the Pasig City Hall. Noting that he is open to answering questions, the local chief executive said he personally went to the designated area and faced the protesters.
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“Kaso lang, pagdating ko sa kanilang rally kuno, puro naman hakot mula sa Quezon City ang naabutan ko. Ni hindi alam ng karamihan kung bakit sila dinala sa Pasig (It’s just that, when I arrived at their supposed rally, all I got was people handpicked from Quezon City. Most people don’t even know why they were brought to Pasig.),” said Sotto.
“Okay lang ang katanungan pero sawa na tayo sa dirty tactics (It’s okay to have questions but I draw the line with dirty tactics.),” he emphasized.
According to Sotto, based on investigation, the protesters were “handpicked” by a political group. While he did not mention which group he was pertaining to, the mayor hinted that the group is active on issuing press releases aimed at training others.
In the end, Sotto said he is willing to answer queries surrounding his administration’s plan to establish a new city hall.
“Muli po, bukas tayo sa mga katanungan at pagsusuri. Handa tayo para rito, dahil ang ginagawa natin ay napag-isipan nang maigi, maganda [o] kailangan para sa kinabukasan ng lungsod, at transparent ang proseso. (Again, we are open to questions and reviews. We are ready for this, because what we are doing is well thought out, beautiful [or] necessary for the future of the city, and the process is transparent.),” he said.
“Basta. Tuloy lang po tayong magtatrabaho. Kailangan lang din natin pag-usapan ito paminsan para mabunyag ang mga dirty tactics nila (We’ll just keep working. We just need to talk about it from time to time to reveal their dirty tactics.),” he added.
Sotto said the city hall’s detailed costing would soon be made available to the public once finalized.