Despite the repeated calls of Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto to all city government personnel to refrain from committing acts of corruption, two of its employees have been arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) after receiving bribes in exchange for the issuance of a permit.
In his Facebook post on Friday, June 1, Sotto reported that the two suspects were nabbed by the police in an entrapment operation after being caught in the act of taking P600,000 bribe.
"Para daw ito sa "tulong" para lumabas ang isang permit na dati nang sinabi sa business owner na ok na (The bribe is said to be payment for "help" in the release of a permit for a business owner that has been long approved by the city government)," Sotto said.
"In the last 3 years, we have started to de-normalize corruption and institutionalize good governance in our local government. A tiring and mostly thankless job, but we guarantee that in the next 3 years, we will push even harder and do even better," the mayor added.
On June 20, the 33-year old mayor reminded his employees to continue practicing honesty in their jobs and to serve the public with respect and truthfulness.
Sotto made the statement during the city’s flag-raising ceremony held at the city hall as he announced the social services the city government will launch during his second term as the city mayor.
“Simpleng paalala lang po ulit na maglingkod tayo ng tapat at mahusay lalo na ginagawa nyo din naman. Siguro sa loob ng tatlong taon, marami tayong pinakilalang mga pagbabago sa pamahalaan pati na rin sa ating CSWD (City Social Welfare Department) (Just a simple reminder for everyone to continue serving the public with honesty and excellence. I believe that in the three years we’ve been together, we have already made a number of needed changes in the government and in the CSWD),” Sotto said.
“Yung iba nakita agad kung bakit natin kailangan ang mga pagbabagong ito, mga pagbabagong ginawa natin, yung iba siguro medyo may resistance ng konti pero naintindihan ko naman po, normal yan lalo na pag bago yung mga ginagawa natin (Others immediately saw why we needed to implement these changes. While there were those who showed resistance, I understand them, especially since we are implementing drastic changes),” he added.
The mayor explained that everything that his administration is doing is for the benefit of Pasigueños who all deserve to be served properly by the city government.