Pasig good governance should go beyond me - Vico Sotto

Metro Manila, Philippines - Fresh from a re-election victory, Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto said his final term as mayor will focus on institutionalizing reforms and good governance practices.

“Ang importante po sa susunod na tatlong taon ay ma-institutionalize kung ano man yung mga magagandang reporma o pagbabago na nasimulan na o napakilala na mula 2019,” Sotto said in an interview with ‘The Newsmaker’ on NewsWatch Plus.

[Translation: What’s important in the next three years is to institutionalize the meaningful reforms or changes that we started or introduced in 2019.]

He said that while programs in health care and education will continue - such as pushing for universal healthcare and support for students even if education is not a devolved function - his priority is to make these systems sustainable.

“Hindi dapat dahil nandito ako kaya siya ganyan. Dapat institutionalized, maging sustainable o pangmatagalan yung mga napagtagumpayan sa lungsod ng Pasig,” he said.

[Translation: It shouldn’t be that things only work because I’m here. These gains must be institutionalized and made sustainable in the long term.]

Sotto cited the city’s public bidding and procurement process as a key area where change must be locked in.

“We removed the kickback, we removed the SOP, we made things transparent, we fixed the processes that before were shortcuts,” he explained.

The mayor said Pasig has built capacity both inside the government and within civil society. That includes forming a professional Procurement Management Office and training civil society observers who participate in open bidding.

“Na pag sinabi mo na, kunyari may next mayor, sabi, ay hindi, balik na tayo sa lumang kalakaran. May mga papalag, may mga magrereklamo,” Sotto said.

[Translation: If a future mayor says, ‘Let’s go back to the old system,’ there will be pushback, people will protest.]

“Naniniwala ako, pag nakasanayan ng isang bagay, mas mahirap na siyang bawihin,” he added.

[Translation: I believe that once people are used to a better way of doing things, it’s harder to take that away.]

Sotto said this includes reforms in human resources, communications, capacity building, and even new ordinances to codify changes made during his administration.

Solid confidence vote

The mayor’s push to institutionalize reforms comes after a landslide victory with over 350,000 votes against 29,000 for his closest rival.

“Ako hindi naman talaga ako nag-e-expect ng kahit ano... Basta kung anong kayang gawin, yun lang,” Sotto said.

[Translation: I don’t really expect anything... I just focus on what I can do.]

His entire local slate, Giting ng Pasig, also won a 15-0 sweep in the city council, which he described as a resounding vote of confidence.

“Naniniwala sila sa direction na tinatahak natin dito sa lokal na pamahalaan at sa lungsod ng Pasig,” he said.

[Translation: They believe in the direction we are taking in local governance and in the city of Pasig.]