FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF ACCOUNTS, BUSINESS AND FINANCE

S.Y. 2020-2021 1ST SEMESTER

Formative Assessment 1:

Leadership Amidst the Pandemic

CRUZ, John Vincent C.

BAMM 109 – Section 19

MGT1101

Submitted to Mrs. Johnelyn G. Tangpus

 "We have to do things in a way that they don't expect, in a non-conventional
way." said then-Mayoral candidate Vico Sotto during his official proclamation as the
winner against ex-Mayor Robert "Bobby" Eusebio, whose family reigned the position for
almost three decades. From his guerilla-style campaign to his unconventional yet
revolutionary platforms, Sotto has proven that the youth are indeed brilliant and
innovative. He values the feedback of his people, which led Sotto to launch “Ugnayan
sa Pasig”, a project that aims to provide a platform for the people so they can easily
raise their concern and suggestions.

Named as a "millennial mayor", he authored the Pasig Transparency Mechanism

Ordinance which entitles Pasig City residents to access copies of public documents
without having to state any reason for requesting them (Gotinga, 2019). With that said,
Sotto aims for transparency of city budgets and projects, which he promised to deflate
by at least 10% to lessen project costs and save money. As of July 2, 2020, the Pasig
City Government saved P415 million in just one year by cleaning up its bidding process
(Reysio-Cruz, 2020). But the question is, where did all that money go?

Even before the pandemic, Sotto vowed to help the Pasigueños by thinking out
of the box—finding new ways to attend to the needs of his people. His main objective is
to allocate budgets in healthcare, which he accomplished by making sure there are
effective safety protocols amidst the pandemic.

The Pasig City government carried out "mass screening" in Brgy. Sagad, which
had the highest ratio of coronavirus cases in the city. With the help of Project ARK, a
private sector initiative to make mass testing available nationwide, the rapid testing was
an effective way in screening those with COVID-19 (Mendoza, 2020). "One of the keys
to our success in fighting the virus is testing more people," Sotto said.

Also, Pasig's local government and The Medical City have previously signed a
partnership agreement to address backlogs of testing persons checked for possible
infection of the virus, which allowed them to conduct 270 tests per week (Biong, 2020).
 Since mass transportation was banned during the MECQ last March, front liners
and workers had a difficult time to go to work. With his Libreng Sakay bus program,
Sotto made sure that his people arrived at their destination safely.

To cut the number of people at Pasig Mega Market, the city government began a
Mobile Palengke, sending trucks with market goods to sell around the city (Gotinga,
2020).

Although he had been busy dealing with the impact of this crisis, Sotto still
prioritized the education of the youth, in which he raised P1.2 billion to provide tablets
and laptops to its public-school students in elementary, junior and senior high school,
and their teachers. In his Facebook live, Sotto urged the youth to continue their studies.
“Don't give up school. Just enroll. You won't have to spend extra,” He added.

According to surveys conducted by RLR Research & Analysis Inc. from May 2 to
June 2, and RP Mission and Development Foundation Inc. from June 10-15, the former
concluded that Sotto got the highest satisfaction rating with 97 percent, while the latter
showed Pasig residents gave him 86 percent approval rating in responding to and
addressing the health emergency (Baron, 2020). However, Sotto urged the public to
stop pitting him against other mayors. "I hope we will not have these kinds of
comparison, especially negative ones. It is not timely to do that. We should just help
each other."

Sotto remains humble despite of his great accomplishments and programs.

When asked about his viral plea to the National Government to allow tricycles in Pasig
City, he was objective in his response. "I'm not saying I'm right all the time. Maybe the
thing that they were trying to implement is to have a stricter ECQ. They saw the bigger
picture, so I'm not going to say that they're wrong." He asserted that there is no such
thing as a "perfect mayor" but Sotto assured that the public funds were solely used for
the Pasigueños' interest, such as healthcare, education, and social services. He had
also expressed his gratitude to front liners. "They never complain. I am very proud of
them. Let us be understanding since we are in the middle of a crisis. They are just
humans." He added.
 It is hard to find a competent leader these days, especially with the current
situation of our country but it can be concluded that Mayor Vico Sotto is a man of power,
driven by his passion to do good things and provide good governance. In his interview
with Jessica Soho, he said that this fight is not about his position. "It was not my
ambition to be a mayor, it's just a title. But I want to be an instrument that can showcase
a good change in our city." Sotto is the beacon of hope not only for the Pasigueños, but
to all the Filipino people yearning for improvement in the system. Considered as a part
of the youth, Sotto pleads the younger generation to be involved, saying “now is really
the time for them to be prepared and keep pushing the system.” It is safe to say that
Sotto stood out of all the mayors in Metro Manila. His objectiveness and nobleness set
him apart from the rest, as he vowed to never become a “trapo” or a traditional
politician. Together with his brilliant ideas, Sotto will continue to serve his people with
nobility.

References:

Gotinga, J. C. (2019, September 6). Vico Sotto to focus on Freedom of Information,

transparency in gov’t projects. Rappler. https://rappler.com/nation/vico-sotto-
focus-freedom-information-transparency-government-projects

Reysio-Cruz, M. (2020, July 3). Vico: Cleanup of bidding process saved Pasig gov’t
P415M | Inquirer News. INQUIRER.Net.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1301058/vico-cleanup-of-bidding-process-saved-
pasig-city-p415m

Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho. (2019, May 20). Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho: Kilalanin si Vico
Sotto, ang Millennial Mayor ng Pasig [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RITH49A4RU0
Gotinga, J. C. (2020, June 14). Vico Sotto: Pasig “mass screens” barangay with highest
coronavirus ratio. Rappler. https://rappler.com/nation/vico-sotto-says-pasig-
mass-screens-barangay-highest-coronavirus-ratio

Mendoza, R. (2020, June 7). Project ARK holds rapid tests in Pasig. The Manila Times.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/06/07/news/national/project-ark-holds-rapid-
tests-in-pasig/729854/

Biong, I. (2020, April 28). Pasig hands over 2,000 COVID-19 test kits to The Medical
City | Inquirer News. INQUIRER.Net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1265913/pasig-
hands-over-2000-covid-19-test-kits-to-the-medical-city

Gotinga, J. C. (2020, June 17). Vico Sotto says Pasig raised P1.2 billion for students’
tablets, laptops. Rappler. https://rappler.com/nation/vico-sotto-says-pasig-raised-
billion-students-tablets-laptops

GMA News. (2020, May 26). Quarantined with Howie Severino: Mayor Vico Sotto | Full
Episode. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euuc3T7lH9E

COVID Survival Guide: Pasig’s ‘Libreng Sakay⠀™ buses can now be tracked
via app. (2020, May 27). Spin.Ph. https://www.spin.ph/life/guide/pasig-s-libreng-
sakay-buses-can-now-be-tracked-via-app-a1374-20200519

Agoncillo, J. A. (2020, August 3). Vico Sotto praises Pasig’s medical frontliners |
Inquirer News. INQUIRER.Net. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1315728/vico-
praises-pasigs-medical-front-liners

Aguilera, J. P. (2020, June 19). Vico Sotto Beats Other Metro Manila Mayors When It
Comes to COVID-19 Response. Esquire Philippines. https://www.msn.com/en-
ph/news/national/vico-sotto-beats-other-metro-manila-mayors-when-it-comes-to-
covid-19-response/ar-BB15Gw1c?li=BBZAn2m

Mayor Vico leads survey in COVID-19 response. (2020, July 22). Manila Bulletin.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/06/24/mayor-vico-leads-survey-in-covid-19-response/
Gonzales, C. (2020, April 15). Vico Sotto asks public not to compare him with other
mayors on COVID-19 action | Inquirer News. INQUIRER.Net.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1258941/vico-sotto-asks-public-not-to-compare-him-
with-other-mayors-on-covid-19-action

Asuncion, M. (2020, May 1). Chalk Exclusive: Mayor Vico Sotto Urges, “Now is the time
for the youth to keep pushing the system.” MYX | YOUR CHOICE. YOUR
MUSIC. https://myx.abs-cbn.com/features/23724/chalk-exclusive-mayor-vico-
sotto-urges-now-is-t

Rappler. (2019, October 18). Rappler Talk: 100 days on, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto vows
never to become ‘trapo’ [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=oeXJyg__gh8&t=192s