Pasig City Mayor-elect Vico Sotto made his first directive on social media to constituents: to stop placing his face on tarpaulins placed in public places.
Sotto’s office as chief of Pasig will begin on July 1. He defeated longtime mayor Bobby Eusebio in the midterm election last May, ending the Eusebio family’s 27-year rule in the city.
On his Facebook page, Sotto made the request on June 19 and attached a photo of a birthday greeting on tarpaulin. His birthday already passed on June 17, Sotto captioned, and told the residents to remove it.
“Maraming salamat po sa lahat ng bumati sa aking ika-30 na kaarawan! Pero tapos na ang birthday ko. tanggalin niyo na ‘yung mga tarp na ‘to please! Nagugulat ako sa mukha ko eh,” Sotto said.
He admitted that the person who placed the tarpaulin received his consent for doing so.
However, after this, residents should avoid putting up tarpaulins or posters with his face in public places, he wrote.
“Ang totoo, nagpaalam sa’kin ‘yung nagkabit nito. Pumayag na lang ako dahil alam ‘kong excited pa ang lahat sa panalo natin. Pero pagkatapos nito, iwasan na natin ang mga tarp/poster na may mukha ko ha! Lalo na sa mga public spaces!” Sotto wrote.
As of press time, the post garnered more than 2,000 shares and 3,000 comments.
En route to city hall
Sotto had been active in making preparations for a smooth transition of the local administration on July 1. He shared updates of the preparations on his social media accounts.
On June 5, Sotto shared a photo of him and Mayor Kit Nieto of Cainta, Rizal in a meeting for a better partnership between two the jurisdictions.
Cainta and Pasig are two of the cities flanking thoroughfare Ortigas Extension. The other city is the municipality of Taytay, Rizal.
Residents welcomed Sotto’s move to personally talk to an official of a neighboring city to resolve the common problems they encounter such as traffic congestion.
Prior to this, he also assured that city employees who have no complaints filed against them will be retained or renewed.
Sotto cited four cases deemed prohibited by law:
- Tampering with an inventory
- Deleting a database
- Shredding public records before allowed
- Antedating of minutes to attempt midnight appointments
“Maging tapat tayo sa Diyos at sa taumbayan, hindi sa mga politico,” he said in another post on May 29.
Ending the Eusebios’ dynasty
Sotto’s extended family has been notable in show business and later branched out into politics in the late 1980s.
His first foray into politics was in 2016 when he was elected as a city councilor and served for one term.
Two years later, Sotto decided to run against Eusebio despite lacking years of experience on the political and administrative stage.
Sotto’s parents, actor-comedian Vic Sotto and actress Connie Reyes, accompanied him in filing his certificate of candidacy.
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