Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto hints at 2022 reelection bid

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA)

MANILA, Philippines — Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto hinted on Monday his possible reelection bid as local chief executive in 2022, and dismissed calls for him to run for president.

“Hindi pa naman ako nag-announce pero ‘yun naman po siguro ‘yun,” the 32-year-old first time mayor said over ABS-CBN News Channel when asked if he will seek reelection for next year.

(I have not yet announced it but maybe that’s the case.)

Sotto said he would “definitely” want to continue implementing reforms in Pasig City, noting only nine months of his term, which started in 2019, were spent without the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We’ve made a lot of gains but sa totoo lang, limited ‘yung nagawa namin dahil sa pandemya (actually, our efforts have been limited because of the pandemic). A lot of our projects, even pushing for Universal Health Care, have been delayed because of the pandemic,” he said.

“We had nine months to clean things up and grabe ‘yung pinagdaraanan namin dito, ‘yung nililinis namin dito. Hindi rin naman siya biro. Talagang napakahirap but we’ve had gains, we are building momentum steadily, and ‘yun nga lang, talagang limited ‘yung pwedeng gawin,” he added.

(We had nine months to clean things up and we are facing a great challenge here. It is hard but we’ve had gains. We are building momentum steadily, but what we can do is limited.)  

Sotto said the local government unit under his leadership has introduced a lot of reforms, including efforts for the ease of doing business and to eliminate corruption.

Too young for presidential bid

The young mayor, however, brushed aside thoughts of running for president since he does not even meet the age requirement.

The constitution states that the presidential candidate should be at least 40 years old at the day of the election.

“Kalokohan lang ‘yun. Una, I’m 32 years old,” Sotto said of his reactions to people urging him to run for president.

(That’s a pure joke. First of all, I’m 32 years old.)

“I don’t entertain those thoughts whether now or for the future. Dapat magfocus ako sa trabaho ko ngayon. As cliché and [even if] sabihin [that] I am not answering the question, pero totoo, kailangan magfocus ako ngayon. Ito ‘yung trabaho ko eh,” he added.

(I don’t entertain those thoughts whether now or for the future. I should focus on my job right now. As cliché as it sounds and even if others say I am not answering the question, I should focus on my present job.)

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