Sotto humbled by Duterte’s praise

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Saturday said he was humbled by President Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks on his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) when he called the lawmaker a capable man.

“Pareho kaming qualified, eh. Biro lang,” Sotto joked in a radio interview.

“Na-ano ako siyempre, na-humble ako, kasi Presidente yun, sa SONA pa niya sinabi. Kaya lang, privately… Nag-uusap kami doon sa loob, nagulat nga ako nung binanggit pa niya sa SONA,” he added.

During his last SONA, Duterte called the Sotto a “good man” and said he could “become a good vice president.”

“Biniro na rin ako ng Presidente doon sa loob, pero doon sa loob, parang hindi biro eh. Yung sa SONA mukhang hindi rin biro eh. So, nagulat lang ako na binanggit niya doon,” Sotto said.

Malacañang, however, later clarified that Duterte did not endorse Sotto.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson confirmed last week that he and Sotto would run for president and vice president, respectively, in the 2022 elections.

On Wednesday, Sotto said some members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition had given him their consent for him to run for vice president.

“[Y]ung partido ko, they gave me the go-signal nung huling meeting namin, as far as I am concerned,” he said. -MDM, GMA News