Vico Sotto writes honest, eye-opening essay on introducing change in 'bureaucratic, rigid' government

Vico Sotto has been making waves since his victory at this year's elections, which ended the 27-year rule of the Eusebio clan in Pasig City.

This time, the 30-year-old mayor found himself in the spotlight after writing an eye-opening essay posted on the Humans of Ateneo Facebook page, where he honestly spoke about his life in politics.

Sotto began the essay by talking about how he started his career in government as an idealistic graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University.

"I started in government a few years after graduating from Ateneo—very idealistic tapos parang nafrustrate ako with certain things, mga institutionalized practices. I don’t blame anyone, ‘cause it’s been like that for so long, pero di ko alam anong gagawin ko," he wrote.

He then resigned and looked for a job, before deciding he would get his Masters degree. He sought advice from one of his old professors, who invited him to work for her instead.

Sotto said his experience in government watch and political democracy under the Ateneo School of Government was what helped mold him, especially with his approach on pushing for governance reforms.

After his stint at the ASOG, Sotto ran for councilor. By then he said he was well-prepared as opposed to when he just graduated. Looking back, Sotto said he might have been swayed to corruption if he ran for a government position immediately.

"Malamang magiging corrupt na rin ako kung ganun. I strongly believe that anyone can be corrupt; we can’t think too highly of ourselves. Pag pumasok ka sa kaguluhang 'yan, pag pumasok ka sa giyera na di ka handa, mawawala ka talaga. Kailangan talaga ng tamang preparasyon," he said.

Non-negotiables

Sotto said that before he ran for government, he had set his "non-negotiables."

"Ako, very minimal lang naman, I don’t claim to be the best person: No vote buying, di ako tatanggap ng kickback, di ako mananakit ng tao. Everything else, pwede ko pag isipan," he said.

"So, sige kung meron kayong gustong pag-usapan, sige pag-usapan natin. Kung tingin niyo may gray areas, sige, convince niyo ako, pero di ako tatanggap ng kickback, kahit isang piso," he added.

What helps him stay grounded in these rules are the people he surrounds himself with, who have integrity and the same ideology as him.

"Obviously, nobody’s perfect so I will make mistakes along the way: not just technical, but moral as well. The thing that I should consider is if I will have people to confront me and tell me I’m making those mistakes, because everyone has their blind spots," he admitted.

The right balance

Sotto said that many of the problems in the government and the country are "very deeply institutionalized."

Thus his biggest challenge is not how young he is but how old the system is.

"So, the biggest challenge for me as someone who wants to push for change—however far we can go with it—has nothing much to do with my age. It’s really the culture of government, and the norms that are already in place. It’s hard to introduce change in a very bureaucratic, procedural, and rigid government," he said.

He said that the solution is "finding the right balance."

"Obviously, you don’t want to move too slow, because nothing’s gonna happen. If you try to move too fast, the people, the institution, the organization might not be ready for it," he said.

He used Jim Collins' analogy of a giant wheel to explain the situation:

"A giant wheel, when you start to push it, nothing will happen. If there are two of you, baka nothing will happen pa rin. But, if there are 10 of you pushing, maybe it will move a little bit. If you get more and more people to help you and you start to strategize—baka dapat may lever dito, may maghatak dito, dito yung strategic angle to push this wheel—then eventually the wheel will start to move an inch or two, will start to move a foot. Eventually, it will start to increase its speed. When it starts to gain momentum, actually, the opposite is now the problem: mahirap na siya pigilan."

Sotto is first to admit that "it's not easy to change anything" in Pasig City, and said he has to be strategic.

"Half the battle is being well-prepared: studying the situation, knowing where there will be points of opposition, knowing what you can’t change for now, I think, is an important thing to come to terms with," he said.

"I think a big part of staying sane as someone who’s idealistic is accepting that I can’t change everything at the same time," he concluded.

—JCB, GMA News