Vico Sotto files COC for third term as Pasig mayor

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Saturday filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) to formalize his bid for his last term as local chief executive.

Robert "Dodot" Jaworski Jr., the city's incumbent vice mayor, also filed for his reelection in Eleksyon 2025.

Sotto was accompanied by his parents, actor Vic Sotto and actress Coney Reyes.

In an interview, Sotto slammed the remarks of the owners of St. Gerrard Construction that they felt compelled to run for public office because of him.

"Kaya daw po sila 'napilitan' tumakbo dahil daw sa akin. Anong klaseng intensyon, anong klaseng motibasyon 'yun para pumasok sa pulitika? Ito ang mensahe natin sa kanila. 'Yung pagpasok sa pulitika, hindi 'yan pwedeng excuse, hindi 'yan puwedeng shield para ipagpatuloy 'yung paglabag sa batas," Sotto said.

(They said they feel 'forced' to run because of me. What kind of intention, what kind of motivation is that to enter politics? This their message to us. Going into politics should not be an excuse or a shield to continue violating the law.)

"Sumali sila sa pulitika o hindi, I will do my job and part of my job is to make sure that the correct taxes are paid to the city. Part of my job is to make sure that the building code is enforced lalo na kung ganyan kalaki ang mga structures na pinapatayo," he added.

(Whether or not they join politics, I will do my job and part of my job is to make sure that the correct taxes are paid to the city. Part of my job is to make sure that the building code is enforced especially if structures of that size are being constructed.)

Sotto clarified that this was not a "personal" issue, emphasizing that the investigation against St. Gerrard was launched way before they decided to join politics.

The reelectionist mayor also claimed that his camp has "overwhelming evidence" against St. Gerrard that would back his allegation that they are the same firm with St. Timothy Construction Corporation (STCC)—the construction firm that backed out of the joint venture to supply the new automated election system for the 2025 polls.

To support his claim, Sotto showed a copy of the General Information Sheet submitted by St. Timothy to the Securities and Exchange Commission wherein the declared address of the president of the firm is the same address of the St. Gerrard building.

The business permits of the two firms also indicated that both companies have the same address, he said.

Company's response

Sought for comment on Sotto's statements, Pacifico Discaya II, the owner of St. Gerrard, reiterated that his company has already divested from the STCC.

"About sa St. Timothy po nag withdraw na sya JV at  nag divest na po kami kay St. Timothy from 2016 pa. Wala narin po co[l]lusion dun at mas mabuti mam si comelec nalang po explain about dyan sa withdrawal ni St. Timothy," Discaya said in a message to GMA News Online.

(St. Timothy already withdrew from the JV and we have already divested from St. Timothy in 2016. There is no collusion. The Comelec is in a better position to explain the withdrawal of St. Timothy.)

In a recent interview with 24 Oras, Disaya said there was a time that St. Timothy rented a space in their building.

"Naramdaman namin na parang baka ginagawa ni Mayor Vico ito sa amin para i-provoke kami na tumakbo para magkaroon siya ng kalaban," Discaya earlier said.

Call for vigilance

While Sotto thanked the Comelec for taking actions regarding St. Timothy's partnership with the service provider for the 2025 polls, the Pasig City mayor said, "we still need to make sure that they truly do not interfere with the operations" in the upcoming elections.

He claimed that some of the personnel of St. Gerrard is taking pride over the contract with Comelec.

"Even behind the scenes 'yung mga tao nila pinagmamalaki na... 'hawak' nila 'yung kontrata ng 'yan ng Comelec," Sotto said.

Amid these remarks, Sotto clarified that he raised this concern not because of the politics in Pasig City.

"This is a matter of national importance. We have to make sure that our elections have integrity," Sotto said.

Proud parents

In a separate ambush interview, Sotto's father, Vic, threw full support for the mayor, saying the "old style of politics" will no longer work in Pasig City.

"'Yung mga style na bulok, hindi na uubra sa Pasig 'yon. Alam naman ng Pasigenyo ang tama o mali. Nakikita natin ang pagbabago sa takbo ng gobyerno dito... Matalino ang mga Pasigenyo. Matalino na ang mga botante natin ngayon," the actor comedian said.

(The rotten ways will no longer be tolerated in Pasig. The Pasigenyos know what's right and wrong. We can see the change in governance here... Pasigenyos are smart, so are the voters today.)

The older Sotto then told the Pasig mayor, "Keep up the good work. You're doing a good job. I'm proud of him."

Mayor Sotto is currently facing two graft cases, but he believes that these complaints are part of dirty tactics of some political groups. — VDV, GMA Integrated News