Sotto supports Poe-Honasan tandem

Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. FILE PHOTO

Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III declared on Monday his support for a “Gr-Ingo” tandem, an acronym he coined for Senators Grace Poe and Gringo Honasan.

Poe, who is joining the 2016 presidential race, will run with Senator Francis Escudero while Honasan is the running-mate of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

READ: UNA’S Binay, Honasan first tandem to file COCs

Sought to comment on Honasan’s decision to join the vice presidential race, Sotto said: “What can I say? E di Gringo ako (I am for Gringo)— Grace-Gringo! GR-INGO.”

Sotto said he already asked permission from his group, the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), that he would support Poe and Honasan in 2016.

READ: NPC may field Poe-Escudero team

“Besides, matagal pa before the NPC decides,” he said in a text message.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, vice chairman of the Liberal Party (LP), welcomed Honasan’s entry in next year’s vice presidential race.

“Well, we wish them the best of luck. Karapatan po ng bawat tao sa ating bansa, sa Pilipinas, everyone has the right to present himself or herself for election. Yaan po ang essence of democracy, may kalayaan ang bawat mamamayan na iharap ang sarili bilang kandidato sa isang posisyon. We wish them luck,” Drilon said in an interview at the Senate.

(Well, we wish them the best of luck. It’s everyone’s right…everyone has the right to present himself or herself for election. That’s the essence of democracy: every citizen has the right to present himself or herself as a candidate for a post. We wish them luck.)

But with another senator running in the 2016 elections, the Senate leader said it would now become more difficult for the chamber to get a quorum.

Honasan is the fifth senator to run for vice president after Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes IV, and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Aside from the five senators and Poe, who is running for president, five other incumbents are seeking re-election including Drilon, Sotto, Serge Osmeña, Ralph Recto, and Teofisto Guingona III.

“Mahihirapan kumuha ng boto. Ako po ay mag-aappeal na lang sa bawat isa na senador na tayo ay we were primarily elected bilang mga senador, at mayroon tayong mga tungkulin. May panahon para sa kampanya, may panahon para tapusin ang ating trabaho,” Drilon said.

(It will be difficult to get a vote. I’d just appeal to each senator that we were primarily elected as senators and we have our duties. There’s the right time to campaign, and we should have time to finish our work.)

“Kaya ako po ay nag-aapila sa aking mga kasama that we should continue to work until the last day. That is the best campaign that we can show,” he further said.

(That’s why I’m appealing to my colleagues that we should continue to work until the last day. That is the best campaign that we can show.) IDL