PHPasig City Mayor Vico Sotto emphasized the importance of transparency and good governance in government projects.
In his message during the Ceremonial Contract Signing for the New City Hall Project on Monday, January 13, Sotto underscored that quality government projects can be achieved without corruption.
"Posible na gumawa ang gobyerno ng proyekto na dekalidad, sa tamang presyo, at walang korapsyon," Sotto said, revealing that systemic issues like "SOP" or automatic kickbacks for officials often range from 20% to 40%, significantly inflating costs.
Sotto highlighted Pasig City's efforts to eliminate such practices through open and competitive bidding processes, which initially faced resistance but ultimately led to substantial savings.
"Kung i-compute natin sa pinakamababa na 20%, kung nasa 5, 6 billion pesos ang dumadaan sa procurement every year, ibig sabihin ang natitipid ng pamahalaan ngayon, na dati ay nagbubulsa lang, ay more than 1 billion pesos per year," Sotto stated.
In an Instagram post featuring excerpts from his message, Sotto explained that the New City Hall Project is not just a three-tower building but a two-hectare development intended to serve as a functional government center for at least the next 100 years.
Sotto emphasized the importance of transparency, highlighting that a full video detailing the project—including cost breakdowns, architectural and engineering designs, and the rationale behind it—is available on his YouTube and Facebook pages.
"The bigger the project, the more transparent we must be," Sotto said.