MANILA - Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto told his constituents that he would grant requests for kisses when the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
The 32-year-old mayor said the statement in jest while visiting Barangay Rosario, where several residents cajoled him to give kisses to his supporters in the area.
"Pasensya na po, bawal pa ang kiss. Ipagdasal po natin na matapos na ang pandemiya na ito," the mayor said.
(I'm sorry, kisses are not yet allowed. Let's pray that this pandemic would end already.)
"Ako hindi ako mahilig mangako. Kahit balikan niyo po yung sinasabi ko noong kampaniya noong 2019, kahit 2016 hindi ninyo ako maririnig na nangangako... pero pangako ko po sa inyo, pagkatapos ng pandemiya, kahit mag-kiss po tayo puwedeng-puwede."
(I am not fond of making promises. Even if you go back to my statements during the campaign in 2019 and even in 2016, you will not hear me making promises... but what I can promise you is that after the pandemic, we can kiss.)
The bachelor mayor's vow elicited squeals from his constituents, with some screaming that they'd queue for kisses after the pandemic.
"Una na ako!" one resident shouted.
"Iuuwi na kita!" another said.
Sotto, son of comedian Vic Sotto, has been interspersing his public addresses with jokes and humor since he rose to Pasig's mayoralty post in 2019.
But unlike his maiden campaign for mayor, Sotto is now running for re-election with a slate.
Aside from jokes, a staple in Sotto's public speeches is his plea to Pasigueños to vote for him in the 2022 elections, noting that he has only served for 9 months before the COVID-19 pandemic happened.
"Hindi pa naman po panahon ngayon ng kampaniya... pero sana maisip po natin na sa 9 months po --- 9 months lang ako naging mayor sa normal na pamumuhay --- kung ito po mga nagawa natin, ito yung napagtagumpayan natin, ito yung naaccomplish na natin sa maiksing panahon na may COVID pa, ano pa kaya ang puwede nating gawin kung wala na ang pandemiyang ito?" the mayor said.
(While the campaign season has not yet started... I hope we can think about how we were able to accomplish so much in 9 months before the pandemic. If we were able to do these, achieve these and accomplish these in the short period before COVID, what more if we can continue working after the pandemic?)
"At ano pa kaya ang puwede natin gawin kung yung mga kasama natin sa city hall ay kakampi o mapagkakatiwalaan natin? Sana pag-isipan po natin ito at magkaisa pa ang mga Pasigueño tungo sa hinaharap."
(What more can be done if we have allies and trusted people in the city hall? I hope we think about this and that Pasigueños would be united in the future.)
Sotto, who also sits as the executive vice president of Aksyon Demokratiko, earlier said that he would focus on Pasig City instead of meddling in the national elections where his uncle, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, is vying for the vice presidency.