CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK), one of the major political parties of Cebu City, has formally endorsed Senate President Vicente Sotto III for the vice presidency. 

On Saturday evening, April 2, before around 20,000 supporters estimated by organizers, the Osmeñas of Cebu vouched for Sotto’s record and integrity, then raised his hand in the program’s finale. 

The sortie on Saturday, organized by BOPK, was so far the biggest sortie that Sotto had attended during the 2022 campaign. For comparison, his proclamation rally with his standard-bearer Senator Panfilo Lacson on February 8 gathered an estimated 4,000 supporters in Imus, Cavite. 

In endorsing Sotto, BOPK mayoral candidate Margot Osmeña retold her story of Sotto donating P5 million to her foundation for children diagnosed with cancer, eliciting applause from the audience. 

The episode, she said, showed Sotto’s genuine kindness as a public servant, so Cebuanos should vote for him. 

She said their votes would count as “giving back” to Sotto. 

Former Cebu mayor Tommy Osmeña, Margot’s husband, meanwhile kept his message short. He said Sotto, even if he grew up in Manila and barely spoke Cebuano, was still one of their own. 

Sotto, he said, was a “genuine Cebuano.”

Tommy added that Cebuanos should vote for Sotto and BOPK’s presidential candidate, Vice President Leni Robredo.

Tommy Osmeña slammed former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Robredo’s opponent, as an incompetent politician. He was silent on Sotto’s opponents. ([WATCH] Tommy Osmeña: Marcos Jr. for president? ‘He’s too lazy to get a college degree’)

Sotto earlier said he could not impose on the BOPK to also endorse his presidential bet, Senator Panfilo Lacson. It was the party’s decision. 

Sotto is set to return to Cebu with Lacson tentatively next week. – Rappler.com

Read other stories from this coverage: 

• [WATCH] Tommy Osmeña: Marcos Jr. for president? ‘He’s too lazy to get a college degree’
• Cebu City cops bar people below 4 feet in height at political rally
• Osmeña’s BOPK flies Robredo-Sotto flag in Cebu City