Mayor Vico Sotto of Pasig City announced today that he is on quarantine after one of his close aides died of COVID-19.
Sotto, currently one of the country’s most popular mayors, said in a Facebook video that he had already taken a swab test to determine if he is positive of the respiratory disease.
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“I had my COVID-19 test yesterday. I was a close contact [of someone who died of COVID-19],” he said in English and Filipino.
The 31-year-old local chief executive said he had all meetings canceled due to his quarantine, and he will continue to communicate with his staff via Zoom, text, and Viber.
“A lot of people know, especially among those working at City Hall, those who are closely working with my staff [they know] that last Friday we lost a dear friend because of COVID-19. He was my driver so I am a close contact,” he said.
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Sotto has become popular even among non-residents of Pasig City because of his anti-corruption crusade, and for performing relatively better than more seasoned politicians. The United States government named him last month as one of the 12 leading anti-corruption crusaders in the world, the only Filipino to make it on their list. The honor has led some Filipinos to believe that he could eventually become the president of the country, to the delight of his hordes of online fans.
