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Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto said that he is against nepotism, which is the root cause of political dynasties. Nepotism is a practice among those with the power of favoring their relatives or friends, especially with decisions relating to their careers.
In an interview with GMA Network‘s veteran journalist Howie Severino for the first episode of his show Quarantined with Howie Severino, Sotto stated that he actually discourages his family members from running as the next Pasig City mayor.
“It would have to depend on the actual situation. Wala naman kasing ganun ngayon dito, na walang potential for that. Pero let’s say, kunyare kapatid ko or someone, I would really strongly discourage them,” said Sotto.
“Hindi lang dahil hindi magandang tingnan but ang puso ko para sa Pasig, puso namin ng team namin dito, magkaroon ng iba pang leaders.”
Sotto added that he is aiming to find other qualified leaders to step up to take his place.
“Let’s find those young leaders. Let’s find those next-generation leaders who will be better than me, who will be better than the leaders that we already had here in Pasig.”
His stance against political dynasties was actually one of the reasons why he took part in the 2019 elections to be Pasig City’s mayor. He was up against Bobby Eusebio, who is a part of the clan that has led the city for 27 years.
Sotto admitted that if it was another candidate who would potentially be the next mayor of Pasig back then, he wouldn’t have joined.
“If there was another candidate nung 2019 na lalaban sana, hindi naman ako tatakbo, e. I mean, the people closest to me know that. But ako, kung magiging successful leader ako, ibig sabihin the more successful I am, the shorter I will stay here. Iyon yung thinking ko.”
He mentioned that, for him, for someone to qualify as an effective leader, they should have the ability to pass the leadership to the next person in line.
“Ibig sabihin, may continuity. Hindi iyong anak mo lang o ano—ibig sabihin may mga bagong leader rin.”
Another politician who has expressed their stance against political dynasties is Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. In an interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source on June 4, he has said that he will not vote for someone who will just “inherit” a political position.
“Basta hindi ako boboto ng nagmamana lang ng pwesto. Kasi ang pwesto hindi minamana, hindi nililipat-lipat,” Moreno said.
“Let democracy run its natural course. That is a guarantee. I will not vote for it.”
One of President Rodrigo Duterte‘s picks for the 2022 elections is his own daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. The others are Sen. Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, former senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., Sen. Manny Pacquiao, and Moreno himself.
