CEBU CITY, Philippines – Multi-sector groups supporting Senate Speaker Vicente Sotto III’s candidacy for vice-presidency expressed confidence on Friday that they will increase in numbers in the coming days as aspirants begin showing their record of public service. campaign days.

Manuel Utzurrum, representing the Negros Oriental Farmers Association Cooperative which has a chapter in each municipality, said in a fan zoom meeting on Wednesday that sector leaders from Bohol, Siquijor, Negros and Cebu discussed ways to put in place. a “community campaign strategy” for Sotto, as they believed him to be the only vice-presidential bet that could speak to the masses.

Negros Oriental’s sector leader recalled how Sotto carefully listened to the plight of the marginalized sector during a hybrid public meeting on October 8 at the Mactan Shangrila Hotel which they and other executives attended via a virtual platform .

The activity brought together leaders from marginalized sectors, such as vendors, fishermen, the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community, farmers, women, the urban poor and “habal-habal” drivers. », In Cebu. , Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquior.

At the public meeting, Sotto highlighted Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) through the Village Empowerment Budget Reform Advocacy Program (BRAVE) which would guarantee the annual Local Development Fund (LDF) to assist government units. communities to implement comprehensive three-year development plans.

The program will guarantee the automatic allocation of a budget of PHP 500 million for each of the country’s 82 provinces, PHP 100 million for each of the country’s 145 cities, PHP 50 million for each of the country’s 1,493 municipalities and PHP 5 million for each of the country’s 42,046 barangays.

“The agricultural sector is one of the most vulnerable sectors of Philippine society. Although we all know that farmers play a crucial role in the food security aspect of governance, they are one of the most, if not the most neglected groups, ”said Utzurum.

Danny Salac, adviser to multisectoral groups in Siquijor province, said the poor and marginalized sector of society are fed up with campaign promises and empty promises of national candidates who could not even support cooperatives and organizations. but their funding would end up in the politicians’ campaign jackpot.

Salac said a team from Sotto’s office gathered proposals from different community organizations that attended the public meeting last month.

Lister Llemit, president of the Sangguniang Kabataan of Barangay Cayam, in the town of Garcia Hernandez in Bohol, said his province’s youth, women and LGBTQ sector was delighted to have Sotto at the very first public meeting with the marginalized sector like them.

Sotto, in his previous message to sector leaders, hailed “social contracts” with multisectoral groups as a way to link their government platforms or many socio-economic programs directly to citizens as activists at the local level.

The youth leader pointed to Sotto’s track record that began in 1988 when he was elected vice mayor of Quezon City; he won 11.7 million votes in the 1992 Senate elections, the first general elections under the 1987 Constitution; then became deputy chief of the prosecution for the majority; and in the 2016 elections, he won 17.2 million votes and then elected by his fellow senators to the presidency of the Senate.

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