Senate President Vicents “Tito” Sotto III said that everything is set for his bid for the vice presidency. He is the running mate of Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson Sr. in next year’s election. Lacson is gunning for his second attempt at the presidency in the 2022 elections.
Sotto revealed his plan in an exclusive interview over DYTR’s Newsmakers Ug Uban Pa radio program on Sept. 15, 2021, hosted by Ardy Araneta-Batoy and Dave Albarado.
“Ay oo, nagkaroon na kami ng launching noong Sept. 8, kami ni Sen. Lacson at nagkasundo na kami na hindi na pwedeng awatin,” he said during the interview.
He said that the tandem has already prepared a program of action on what they are going to do once elected to the two highest elective positions in the land.
“Kami ay nag handa na ng programa at alam namin kung ano ang sakit ng bayan. At alam din namin ang mga solusyon na ma-i-offer dito. At yung tagal namin sa Senado na legislative lang kami, yung expertise namin kaya naming dalhin sa executive department. Sa tingin namin, tuloy na tuloy na kami,” Sotto quipped.
FACING DUTERTE
Sotto said he is unfazed in the possible face off with President Duterte. The president has been named by the Cusi-wing of the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas (PDP)-Lakas ng Bayan (Laban) as its vice presidential candidate.
Sotto said: “Magiging anim na taon na siyang nagsisilbe [sa bayan]; ang tanong kasi anong magagawa niya na pagka bise presidente na hindi magagawa sa president?”
He said that he is ready and willing to offer his expertise and his advocacy to the country if he gets elected as the Philippine’s next vice president.
His advocacy is similar to the anti-drug thrust of President Duterte, it is just that he (Sotto) prefers to approach the drug problem in a holistic manner.
He said that the drug problem should be solved not just through supply reduction but also through looking at the demand reduction. This means that there should be programs to address drug abuse. He said that as long as there are drug abusers, the drug problem will continue to persist.
“Kahit ubusin mo ang lahat ng droga, kahit patayin mo ang lahat ng pusher, bukas may bagong pusher; bukas mag iimport ng droga, bakit kasi merong drug dependent,” he explained.
He expounded his plan by seeking to strengthen the drug prevention and rehabilitation program.
PROGRAM OF ACTION
Other than curtailing the drug problem, the Lacson-Sotto tandem is also looking at solving the economic woes of the country.
He cited how the country’s debt has already ballooned to P11 trillion. The country’s debt increased by P6 trillion just in the last 5 years.
Despite the loans that were used for economic development, Sotto is asking if the people at the grassroots feel the economic development effect of borrowings.
He said there is a problem with the proper budget allocation in government and there is a need to impose top to bottom budget reform.
He said that it is “imperial Manila” dictating where the funds will go leaving only leftover budget to the remote barangays which is not enough to create meaningful development.
In order to have proper budget allocation, the tandem is proposing a “Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment” (BRAVE) program. The program aims to ask the barangays, towns, cities and provinces what they need and allocate budget on these needs, accordingly.
Sotto mentioned in the interview that there is a necessity for an efficient utilization of the budget. The country’s funds allocation scheme should prioritize the remote areas of the country, he said.
In the area of agriculture, he also floated the idea of a buy back program, where 50% of farmers’ produce will be bought by the government.
ON THE PANDEMIC
Sotto also touched on how the vaccines can be equally distributed to the countryside and not just provide the lion’s share to the Metro Manila area.
He chided the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) for being unable to look at possible cure or therapy that can prevent the spread of the Coronavirus disease (Covid).
Sotto also want to know how the funds are being used in the purchase of life-saving medicines such as remdisivir and tocilizumab.