Sotto shows political astuteness and experience in endorsing sure win bets

Of the 12 senatorial candidates that Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III formally endorsed, 10 are poised to surely win a Senate seat.

Sotto said, given his long years in public service and close interactions with the people, he knew whom to endorse for the Senate race.

Re-electionist Senators Cynthia Villar, Grace Poe, Sonny Angara, Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and Nancy Binay along with former Special Assistant to the President Christopher "Bong" Go, Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano, former Sen. Lito Lapid who are getting into the "winner's circle," were among those formally endorsed by Sotto.

Only re-electionist Senators Bam Aquino and JV Ejercito, who were also endorsed by the Senate chief, are lagging behind them.

Despite this, Sotto said, he was happy and pleased with the turnout of the just-concluded mid-term polls.

"Yung mga inindorso ko nanalo eh," he said, noting that only three of the administration-backed candidates managed to land in the so-called "magic 12."

Partial and unofficial count also yielded the names of Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino as among the victorious candidates.

Sotto has openly admitted being supportive of Marcos' and Tolentino's bid for their respective seats in the Senate as well during his guesting in the weekly Kapihan sa Senado last May 8, five days before the actual poll exercise.

In Ejercito's case, Sotto said he already anticipated that it would be an uphill battle for his colleague, but he's still expecting him to break into the winning circle with over one million votes still untransmitted.