Pasig City Mayor Victor Ma. Regis "Vico" Sotto’s citation as one of the US State Department’s 12 International Anti-Corruption Champions  should be celebrated so more will be inspired by his good deeds, Vice President Leni Robredo on Wednesday, February 24. 

“Public officials like Mayor Vico should be supported and celebrated to pave the way for more officials to be like him,” Robredo posted on her Facebook page. 

“Marami namang matitino at mahuhusay na local officials pero hindi masyadong napapansin (There are many honorable and good local officials that we don’t notice). They are usually the ones who do not call too much attention to themselves, are simple and humble. Walang masyadong bravado at nagtratrabaho lang ng tahimik (They do not show too much bravado and they work silently),” she said. 

Addressing Sotto, the vice president added: “You make us proud, Mayor Vico,” followed by an emoji of the Philippine flag.

In a statement on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the International Anti-Corruption Champion Award aims to recognize individuals “who have worked tirelessly, often in the face of adversity, to defend transparency, combat corruption, and ensure accountability in their own countries.”

The department described the Pasig City mayor as a “standard-bearer for a new generation of Philippine politicians who prioritize anti-corruption and transparency initiatives in their election campaigns and in office.”

Sotto and Robredo worked together on the Community Mart Project in Pasig City. This app-based delivery service helped small market vendors and tricycle drivers affected by the Metro Manila lockdown last year at the height of the coronavirus outbreak. 

Last week, Robredo said that they are ending the Community Mart Project on Feb. 28. Metro Manila is now under general community quarantine, which allows markets to operate once more. Public transport is also allowed in a limited capacity.

But even before this partnership, Sotto has been vocal about his admiration of the vice president’s late husband, former Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, who died in an airplane crash in 2012 while serving as Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary under then President Benigno Aquino III. 

In a tweet in August 2018, Sotto said the transparency ordinance he filed in Pasig was, in part, inspired by the late Jesse Robredo. 

“I never had the chance to meet Jesse Robredo, but I'm so thankful for his life and all that I've learned from his wisdom and leadership, even if only indirectly through mutual friends, reading, and videos,” his tweet read.