Vico Sotto resigns from Aksyon Demokratiko
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:58 p.m.) — Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto has resigned from Aksyon Demokratiko as member and external vice president, party chairperson Ernest Ramel confirmed to Philstar.com on Wednesday.
Ramel said Sotto, who first clinched the Pasig mayoralty and subsequently ran a successful reelection bid under Aksyon, resigned effective June 30.
Ramel said, however, that they only got hold of Sotto’s resignation letter “sometime late July,” adding that the local chief executive’s departure from the party was “not expected.”
ABS-CBN News first reported on Sotto’s departure after having secured a copy of his resignation letter in which he said he and Aksyon are “no longer a group of individuals with similar political goals and ideals.”
“I joined Aksyon Demokratiko in 2018, in search of a reform-oriented political party that stood for principled politics and inclusive governance. I became [m]ayor in 2019, proudly under the banner of Aksyon Demokratiko,” Sotto said in his resignation letter, which he posted late Wednesday afternoon.
He continued: “Unfortunately, recent events have made it apparent that the party is now headed towards a different direction.”
Sotto also said that his leaving the party “is not about any particular person or candidate.”
Ramel said in a statement that they are “saddened” by Sotto’s resignation.
“He is one the inspirations of the party to be better and we were hoping that he will be the future of Aksyon Demokratiko,” Ramel said. “However, the party is not lacking in talent and strong young future leaders of this country that were elected last 2022 and those who also did not make it but had shown exceptional leadership abilities.”
Ramel added that Aksyon is not closing its doors on Sotto if he decides to return to the party.
During the campaign for the 2022 elections, Sotto distanced himself from national politics and refrained from endorsing a presidential candidate, even as Aksyon backed the candidacy of its party president, then-Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso.
FROM 2021: Isko Moreno elected as Aksyon Demokratiko president
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