Senate President and vice presidential aspirant Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday admitted that Senator Francis Pangilinan running for vice president in the 2022 elections is a “big deal” for his family.
The mother of Pangilinan’s wife, Sharon Cuneta, is the sister of Sotto’s wife, Helen Gamboa-Sotto.
Interviewed on ANC, Sotto said he was not consulted by the couple regarding Pangilinan’s candidacy. He also said he and Pangilinan haven’t discussed about the matter personally.
Sotto said while he just “brushes off” the political situation between him and his nephew-in-law, his wife and his children have a different point of view.
“That question [is] better asked [to] my wife and my children. They have a different perspective. As far as I’m concerned, I brush it off, to them it is a big deal,” Sotto said when asked how he feels about Pangilinan’s decision to run for vice president.
Sought for comment, Pangilinan said the situation is “painful for Sharon and our family too.”
“All families have their share of conflicts between family members as well as misunderstandings and ours is no exception. It is painful for Sharon and our family too,” he said in a message to GMA News Online.
“We pray that in the end there will be reconciliation and forgiveness for the hurt that has been caused by the conflict,” he added.
In a previous interview, Pangilinan admitted that running against his close relative is not an easy situation. He also said he is hoping that they would be able to reconcile in the future.
Vico Sotto
Another family matter that Sotto is dealing with is the endorsement of his nephew, Pasig City Mayor Vice Sotto, to his vice presidential run in the upcoming polls.
He believes the younger Sotto would campaign for him “at one point” despite the mayor’s recent pronouncement distancing himself from the national politics.
“Of course, we would wish to have all mayors, especially popular mayors and governors, to support you as a candidate,” Sotto said.
Vico Sotto is the son of Sotto’s brother, actor-TV host Vic Sotto.
SWS survey
In the same interview, Sotto attributed his lead in the latest commissioned Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey to his current position as head of the Senate.
“Well, we could probably say being Senate president and the achievements of the Senate itself,” Sotto said when asked where he could attribute the survey results.
“We have been showing how independent we are. We are not anti-administration, but we are not pro-opposition. So perhaps, the approval rating and the trust rating that the Senate is enjoying contributes to that. And of course, the records of the Senate and the records of yours truly reach the people perhaps,” he added.
However, Sotto said these surveys are just a “snapshot” of what people think during a particular period of time.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean that you sit on your laurels. I have been subscribing to surveys only because we want to use it as a guide,” he said.
The SWS survey, which was commissioned by Stratbase ADR Institute of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, shows that former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Sotto are the country’s top presidential and vice presidential bets, respectively.
Sotto scored 44% and was followed by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte with 25%. They were followed by Pangilinan with 13%, former senatorial aspirant Dr. Willie Ong with 13%, and Buhay Party-list Representative Lito Atienza.
Marcos, Sara
Asked if Sotto could work with Marcos in case they win the 2022 national polls, he said that hasn’t crossed his mind yet.
“Well, I can actually work with anyone but it has not crossed my mind. Up to now, I’m thinking Senator [Panfilo] Lacson and I will make a very good team,” Sotto said.
The same SWS survey showed that Lacson, Sotto’s running-mate, was in the fifth to sixth spot with 5% of the respondents saying they would pick him as president.
As for Mayor Duterte, Sotto said he was surprised by her decision to run for vice president amid the clamor for her to run for the highest post in land.
“Yes, we always thought that she would be running for the presidency and on the other hand, she has always been saying that she is not interested and she was not going to run and filed for mayor,” Sotto said.
He likewise noted that the administration is “fragmented” ahead of the 2022 polls due to the infighting among members of the ruling PDP-Laban party.
“Because of the aggression of the members of the political party, the party in power, which is the PDP-Laban, perhaps ‘yun ang isang nakakabawas [that is diminishing their influence],” he said, adding that the party is “fragmented at this point.”
With the presidential daughter officially joining the vice presidential race, Sotto admitted that she might be a formidable opponent. He, however, did not discount the efforts of other aspirants vying for the second highest position in the country.
For Sotto, he and Lacson will continue their strategy to focus on grassroots level and strengthen the alliance among Partido Reporma, National Unity Party, and the Nationalist People’s Coalition. —KBK, GMA News
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