'I'm better than other movie stars'

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya , Philippines  – Former senator Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III flaunted having the most bills authored as compared to other movie personalities turned senators.

“I don’t want to brag about my accomplishment in the Senate, but I can lay claim that I authored most Senate bills, some of which became law as compared to other personalities from the movie industry who became senator,” Sotto said.

Sotto, known for his noon-time show Eat Bulaga, along with partners, Vic Sotto, his brother, and Joey De Leon, was in this landlocked province on Sunday all by his lonesome, wooing local electorate to send him again to the Senate.

“You can include and combine all those bills authored by President Estrada and even starting from (former senator) Rogelio dela Rosa, including (incumbent senators) Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid, but I still have the most number of bills authored in the Senate,” said Sotto, who served as senator for 12 years.

Sotto, one of the only two senatorial bets of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, also claimed that he tops, among other movie actors or actresses-turned senator, the number of bills authored that eventually were enacted into law.

“I don’t want to brag about it, but these were all on record. Sometimes, it’s not all bad to flaunt for something that is true,” he added. 

Sotto, who blamed his 2007 failed bid to return to the Upper House due to the administration’s alleged mismanaged campaign, stressed that the bills he authored are not just ordinary laws today as they all have direct effect to Filipinos of all ages.

He mentioned the creation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as one of his milestones in the Senate.

“Because of this law creating PDEA, we have avoided the Philippines becoming like (the drug-laden) Mexico or Colombia. We saved thousands of lives, especially the youth, because of this law,” he said.

Besides the PDEA, Sotto said he was also behind the enactment of laws creating the Family courts, the Optical Media Board and the Calamity Funds for the Local Government Units as well as the Fisheries and Aquatic Code, the Seat Belt Law, the Absentee Voting Law and the Teachers and Students Assistance Fund.