TRANSCRIPT OF SEN. GRACE POE's MANIFESTATION

Sen. Grace Poe: Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to congratulate our awardee and be made co-author in recognizing the efforts and achievements of Mayor Vico Sotto. He's actually a bright spark in an otherwise dark day in our country, especially with the pandemic. I'd like to say that although I haven't had the chance to visit him personally in Pasig, my son Brian did. He brought in some relief for the constituents of Mayor Vico in Pasig. And what my son said was that "the mayor is so low key." Sabi niya, "It's not your usual government setup na maraming hangers-on, napakasimple lang ng mayor. Iilang tao lang ang nandoon sa munisipyo, and basically those were the frontliners that needed to be physically present." And with him at that time was, I think, Cong. Roman Romulo, who I know to be very dedicated also with his work and very conscientious. I can't forget also the time when a broadsheet recognized the efforts of then Councilor Sotto—when he was the first to advocate for a Freedom of Information in Pasig. As a councilor, he was already cited early on. And many people all of a sudden recognized that here was a loud voice, but a voice that was treasured by his constituents for coming up with a policy that's important for good governance.

Alam niyo, Mr. President, ang sabi ni Warren Buffett kung maghahanap ka ng tao na magtatrabaho para sa inyo, ito ang tatlong kwalipikasyon na kailangan mo: una, integridad; pangalawa, enerhiya o lakas; pangatlo, talino. Pero kung wala kang integridad, balewala ang enerhiya at balewala ang talino. And I think that the mayor embodies all three. And so his constituents are very lucky. And even if we say that he's still very new to politics, I think the reason why he's doing exemplary well is also because of his upbringing. I would like to credit his parents for raising a fine person who has fear of the Lord, and who attributes his success to God, to dedicate it to the people and also to dedicate it to that one light that inspires him. So I would like to not just congratulate, but to thank Mayor Vico for giving us hope that there are people in government whom we can look up to, no matter what age. Muli, maraming salamat and congratulations.