MANILA, Philippines — Pasig City Mayor-elect Vico Sotto Monday said he would stick with his local party and would not be joining the ruling PDP-Laban of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I think I’ll stay with my party. I’d rather be in a small party,” Sotto told ANC’s “Headstart.” The young politician, who had just toppled a nearly three-decades-long reign of the Eusebios in Pasig City, is a member of Aksyon Demokratiko party which is focused on local government.
Sotto, however, stressed that if there are national programs that the president is pushing and they are good, they “will support” the chief executive as his party-mate Roman Romulo, who won the city's congressional race, noted that Duterte’s endorsement helped them win their election bid.
“We don’t need to be in the same party necessarily,” the mayor-elect added.
In days leading up to the elections, Duterte threw his support behind Sotto and Romulo after he lashed out at an unnamed mayor who “bullies.”
READ: Duterte endorses Roman Romulo, Vico Sotto
During the PDP-Laban Miting de Avance in Pasig City on May 11, Duterte said in a mix of English and Filipino: "The politics here are being played by the elite, those who are rich that have long been in politics and who just keep coming back.”
The president’s statement drew cheers from the audience at the Philippine Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Romulo said that the Duterte’s speech was “a big factor” for the triumph of their electoral bids.
“There was a culture of fear so you needed someone to say [it],” Romulo said.
Romulo also said they learned from Duterte’s national campaign in 2016.
“We went directly to the people. We made our case, we listened to what they wanted, what they thought was needed,” the congressman-elect added. — Kristine Joy Patag