Mayor Vico Sotto said traditional politics and dirty tactics no longer work in Pasig.
He made the statement following the graft complaints filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB).
On August 19, reports indicated that Sotto is currently facing two graft complaints filed against him and other city government employees.
The latest graft charge, which was received by the OMB on July 30, involves the alleged receipt by Pasig City employees of commemorative t-shirts instead of a P1,500 cash allowance during the 2024 Araw ng Pasig celebration on July 2.
The complainant asked the OMB to charge Sotto and his group for violation of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
Also, earlier this month, the mayor was charged with graft before the OMB for allegedly giving a 100 percent tax discount to Converge ICT Solutions, Inc.
Asked about his reaction on the charges, Sotto said that anyone can file a complaint, but they need to have their own copy of the complaint before he could provide any statement.
“It’s important to understand the process that cases go through in the Office of the Ombudsman. It’s easy to have a complaint received and then sensationalize it by bringing the 'received' copy to the media,” Sotto stated.
“With this particular complaint, I can't even comment because I don’t have an official copy. In some cases, the Ombudsman dismisses it outright, and we won't even receive a copy. Other times, there will be a clarificatory hearing,” the mayor added.
“Notice the interesting timing of this — at the same time that certain political groups are ramping up their political activities,” he said.
“Mahirap ang kalaban na may bilyones, galit sa mga reporma, at handang magbayad ng proxies, Facebook trolls, former at incumbent officials, etc. Pero hindi na basta-basta gumagana ang old traditional politics at dirty tactics sa Pasig (The opponents with billions are hard to fight. They are angry at reforms, and willing to pay proxies, Facebook trolls, former and incumbent officials, among others, but the old traditional politics and dirty tactics no longer work easily in Pasig),” Sotto stressed.
“The people will see right through it,” he added.
On August 12, Sotto personally met with individuals who were allegedly protesting the construction of the new Pasig City Hall. However, he discovered that all participants in the so-called "rally" were from Quezon City, and they didn’t even know why they were brought to Pasig.
Sotto stated that it is okay for people to inquire about the construction of the new city hall, given its large budget. However, it’s a different story if the questions have dark political motives, as their investigation showed that a political group is behind the rally and other press releases aimed at tarnishing its reputation.
Read more:
https://mb.com.ph/2024/8/12/panay-hakot-mayor-vico-responds-to-rally-vs-new-pasig-city-hall-project
https://mb.com.ph/2024/8/19/another-graft-charge-filed-vs-pasig-city-mayor-vico-sotto