Vico Sotto

Victor María Regis "Vico" Nubla Sotto (born June 17, 1989) is a Filipino politician who is the current Mayor of Pasig. Sotto first entered politics when he ran for a seat on the Pasig City Council in 2016. He won the election as an independent, and served one term in the council.He then joined the Aksyon Demokratiko party in 2019 and won the election for Mayor of Pasig City that year.

Sotto was born on June 17, 1989 to actor-comedian-host Vic Sotto and actress Coney Reyes.As the son of two celebrities strongly associated with the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga!, the public expected that Sotto would make regular appearances on the show. However, he was a shy child who often refused to go onstage; eventually his parents stopped asking him. He graduated from Ateneo de Manila University in 2011. Sotto would eventually pursue a career in politics, furthering his mastery by pursuing a post-graduate degree at the Ateneo School of Government, where he graduated in 2018.

Sotto became a member of Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) of Pasig in 2016, serving a single term which ended when he was sworn in as Mayor on June 30, 2019.

Political difficulties as an independent Councilor

As an independent Councilor, Sotto faced stiff opposition to his initiatives, making it difficult for him to introduce legislation.As a result, he was forced to strategize, sacrificing some of the measures he wanted to pass in favor of those he thought most important.

Freedom of Information Ordinance

He focused his attention on the “The Pasig Transparency Mechanism Ordinance,” which seeks the disclosure of public records, including financial documents and contracts, upon request by ordinary citizens. Upon its passage, it became the first-ever localized version of the freedom of information law in Metro Manila.

2019 Campaign

When Sotto ran for Mayor in Pasig in 2019, he campaigned on a platform that he called his “Big V” (Big Five) Agenda, saying he planned to focus on universal healthcare, housing programs, education, public consultation and anti-corruption efforts.

2019 Campaign Platform

Universal healthcare in Pasig City

During the campaign, Sotto indicated that his top priority would be healthcare in Pasig City, citing it as an important anti-poverty measure.He noted that while there were numerous health facilities such as hospitals in Pasig, it was important that they be properly supplied with medicine.

Housing programs

Another priority area Sotto said he would prioritize was housing.He said he would try to make sure that every family living in Pasig would eventually own their own house.He also promised that informal settlers would not be forced to leave their homes until primary services and livelihood could be assured at the selected relocation site.

Education

As part of his Platform on Education, Sotto pledged to make it easier and cheaper for Pasig residents to qualify for scholarships, removing barriers and reducing requirements in the application process. Among the requirements he singled out for removal was the requirement that parents submit copies of their voter's registration documents while applying for Pasig City scholarships.

Public Consultation

In response to the management style of the previous administration Sotto also promised during the campaign that all city government decisions would go through a public consultation process.He also promised transparency in government projects, from planning to implementation to monitoring and evaluation. More specific initiatives proposed by Sotto under this agenda item include public officials from appointing members on local special bodies, and forming sectoral councils in areas such as like transport and environmental protection, tasked with developing legislation in those areas.

Anti-Corruption Drive

Sotto also indicated that his administration's anti-corruption drive would begin with the establishment of a "Government Efficiency and Anti-Corruption Commission," the putting up a Pasig City anti-corruption hotline, and ensuring that a Non-Government Organization or Civil Society Organization would watch over each of the City Government's bidding processes.

Data driven governance

A key strategy Sotto said he would use in order to achieve his five-point campaign platform was that of data driven governance. On the campaign trail, he said that one of the roots of poor public service in Pasig was the culture of "palakasan," where citizens have to curry the favor of officials in order to get services.Sotto's proposed solution to this problem was to make sure that decisions on the provision and prioritization of services would be based on data, rather than the political will or whims of officials.

2019 Electoral Victory

Vico Sotto defeated incumbent mayor Robert Eusebio in the 2019 Pasig local elections, ending the 27-year rule of the Eusebio family over the Pasig City Mayoralty. He was sworn into office on June 30, 2019.

Early policies and positions

Sotto received favorable press coverage when he issued a policy statement against the proliferation of politically propaganda signages, even before his inauguration.A supporter had taken the occasion of Sotto's 30th Birthday on July 17 to post a tarpaulin greeting the Mayor-elect on his birthday.A few days later, Sotto went on Twitter to request that the tarpaulin be removed, and asserting that such politically-oriented signage bearing his image would be discouraged during his term.

Sotto's first executive order upon being sworn in as Mayor put in place a Pasig City Traffic Management Task Force, which was tasked to "review and propose new solutions for the current mobility and traffic situation" within 45 days.The same executive order abolished the Pasig City odd-even coding scheme which the previous administration had implemented on top of the Metro Manila Development Authority's Traffic Coding Scheme - a double burden which Sotto had earlier decried as being "disjointed and unjust."

On 9 July, media reports noted that Sotto had visited protesters who were being forced away from their picket line in front of the main factory of Zagu Foods Corporation in Pasig.He reminded Zagu foods' management that the protesters were within their rights to engage in protest activities.

Sotto originally ran for a seat in the Pasig Sanguniang Panglungsod as an independent, and won a seat without having any party affiliation.

In 2019, Sotto was sworn in as a member of Aksyon Demokratiko, a national political party founded by former Senator Raul Roco in 1997. He was sworn into the party alongside Roman Romulo, who would also win as representative in Pasig City's sole legislative district; and Marielle del Rosario, who likewise ran as representative of Navotas City.Sotto has refused to join bigger more-established parties despite political pressure to do so, explaining that he chose to join the party because he shared its platform of pushing for Freedom of Information, political party reform, and the end of political dynasties.