Lacson and Sotto formally announce tandem for 2022 elections, vows to lead by example
September 10, 2021 05:00 PM
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III and Senator Panfilo Lacson formally announce their presidential and vice-presidential bid for next year’s national elections.
“Nguni’t ang mas malubhang problema ay ang kawalan ng pag-asa. Huwag na huwag yan ang mawawala. Marami sa atin ay hindi alam kung kanino na magtitiwala, okung ano ang paniniwalaan."
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III Senator Panfilo Lacson launched their tandem on Wednesday and pledged to restore the Filipinos’ trust in the government by eradicating all forms of corruption.
Sotto, who is running for vice president alongside Lacson as his president, said that the country has not only been struggling under the weight of the COVID pandemic but is also dealing with issues of rampant corruption from its own government.
He emphasized, however, that worst of all, the Filipino people seem to be losing hope.
“Nguni’t ang mas malubhang problema ay ang kawalan ng pag-asa. Huwag na huwag yan ang mawawala. Marami sa atin ay hindi alam kung kanino na magtitiwala, okung ano ang paniniwalaan,” the Senate chief said.
(But the worst problem is the loss of hope. Never let that waver. Plenty of us don’t even know who to trust anymore, or what to believe in.)
After Sotto’s speech, Lacson took the stage and said that the people’s trust in the government can only be truly revived through the right leadership, which the public can look up to as an example.
“Kailangan natin ng lider na ang tama ay ipaglalaban at ang mali ay lalabanan. Kaya naman magiging una sa ating prayoridad ang mas maigting na pagtugon sa pandemya. Marapat lamang na punan ang mga kakulangan at ituwid ang mga kamalian,” Lacson explained.
(We need a leader who will fight for what is right, and fight what is wrong. This is why one of our priorities is to establish a stronger pandemic response. It is only right to fill what is lacking, and correct the faults.)
The tandem also announced that they are preparing a master plan to address issues in the economy and the health sector.
Lacson said, “As we speak, we are in the process of drawing up a roadmap or a master plan that will serve as our platform of government that we intend to present to our people. After all, sa takdang panahon, kayo ang magdedesisyon kung karapat-dapat ba kaming pagkatiwalaan na mamuno sa ating bayan (In the end, at the right time, the people will be the one to decide if we are worthy of your trust in leading the country).”
Sotto further added, “We come to a point where we can no longer ignore what is happening to our government, to our economy… We need to respond. We need to take action. We need to work together to prevent and correct mistakes. This is the beginning.”
Lacson and Sotto are the first tandem to officially announce their presidential and vice-presidential bids for the 2022 national elections.
