After the Lacson-Sotto campaign kicked off at the hometown of its presidential candidate, their next stop was the vice presidential bet’s home ground.

On Wednesday, February 9, senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente Sotto III gathered a crowd of over 1,000 people at the Quezon City Memorial Circle. They were introduced to residents by Sotto’s son, Vice Mayor Gian Sotto.

“Ako po ay humaharap sa inyo, sa aking sinilangan sa politika, ang lungsod ng Quezon,” Sotto said at the start of his campaign speech. (I stand before you, here at the birthplace of my political life, Quezon City.)

Quezon City is the most populated in the country, and has more than 1.4 million registered voters for the 2022 elections.

Before the sortie, Lacson and Sotto met with the city’s reelectionist mayor, Joy Belmonte, the mayoral candidate of Gian Sotto. The two candidates revealed in a press briefing that they secured the “support” of Belmonte, but not her categorical endorsement.

Neither Lacson nor Sotto gave any promises to court Quezon City voters. Instead, they stuck to the message of fighting corruption. And just like their proclamation in Imus, Cavite, Sotto brought the biggest stars of Eat Bulaga!

Wally Bayola and Jose Manalo performed ahead of his speech, while his brother Vic Sotto made a surprise appearance in its conclusion.

Sotto, 73, started his political life as the vice mayor of Quezon City in 1988. He only completed one term before becoming a senator in 1998. He is currently serving his 4th term as a senator.

Sotto, however, traces his own roots outside Quezon City. His paternal grandfather, former senator Vicente Sotto, hailed from Cebu, and first became a congressman there before his Senate bid. Sotto III himself grew up and studied in Manila. – Rappler.com