After 24 years in the Senate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III bade goodbye by banging the Senate gavel one last time as a senator Wednesday, June 1 as the 18th Congress adjourned sine die.

As he thanked his colleagues in his valedictory speech delivered at the start of the Senate session, Sotto at the same time urged the incoming 19th Congress to “maintain the integrity and independence of the Senate".

“I have been in public service for decades already. My journey has been long and arduous, but it had its shining moments. My years at the Senate – as Senate President and as a regular senator – are the highlights of my career as a public servant. I can and I will show off my legislative accomplishments not only to my grandkids but to the younger generations, proud and guilt-free that I have not abused my position to enrich myself or any member of my family. I have kept my credibility intact and my name, unsullied,’’ he said.

Sotto made the appeal as he thanked his colleagues for the trust that they have given him when they elected him as Senate President in 2018.

“Today, it is with a sense of gratitude that I close the 18th Congress as the Senate President – a distinction given by my esteemed colleagues. I hope that I have not been a disappointment,” he said.

“To my colleagues who have supported me from the beginning, I thank you. I shall treasure your friendship and commitment of cooperation. I extol the hard work that you have put into your individual committees. I will forever admire your integrity and nationalism,” he added..

Sotto, likewise, thanked the officers and employees of the Senate Secretariat “who made sure that the legislative wheels kept turning", and the members of the media who have been covering the Senate.

“I give you my thanks. As members of the press, you have a vital role in maintaining transparency and accountability in government. As our bridge to and from the public, your work is always appreciated,” he said.

“I praise and thank the Lord our God for the many graces He has given me all these years. I praise and thank Him for the mission and path that He has led me to undertake from the time I became vice mayor of Quezon City up to being an elected Senator of the country,” he added.

The Senate chief turned sentimental as he “look(ed) back on that day in 1992 when I was first elected into office. I remember entering the old Senate building, which is now a national museum, as a neophyte senator. (Today) as the 18th Congress comes to a close, so shall my term as Senator".

“The sweet-sorrow of parting is real. I have come to love the Senate, its members, the secretariat, and the plain serenity of being at its premises. It will always have a special place in my heart,” he said.

“I share the honor of my work in the Senate to all the senators who have preceded us, as much as I now bow in respect to all the Senators in the 18th Congress. I am and will always be grateful to the millions of Filipinos who have given me their trust and confidence. Salamat sa tiwala at kumpiyansa (Thank you for your trust and confidence),” Sotto stressed.

In closing, the Senate President wished that “when the time comes that my humble name will have to be ensconced and chiseled into the annals of the Senate’s history, I want to be remembered best as Vicente sportsman by affiliation, a drug-buster by vocation, and a public servant by conviction,’’ he said.