Pinoy netizens had mixed reactions to a photo of Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. interacting yesterday. In a photo, the mayor is seen welcoming the president to the Pasig City Sports Complex, the city’s vaccination center. Sotto said he hopes Marcos Jr.’s visit will encourage more residents to get vaccinated. However, some netizens frowned upon the meeting.

Some netizens are disappointed

LOOK: Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto welcomes President Marcos Jr. to the city and the city’s vaccination center.

He said he hopes the president’s visit will help enjoin more residents to get vaccinated. | via @wenacos pic.twitter.com/TP7anCuQPn

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) August 1, 2022

News of the meeting made rounds on the internet. Some netizens were quick to criticize Sotto for it. Many once again brought up his 2016 tweet where he shared a post condemning the Marcoses for historical revisionism.

“Ah, I remember being [quote tweeted] for criticizing Vico’s silence. Kesyo noong 2016 raw nag-tweet siya ng ‘Never Again.’ Lo and behold,” said one dismayed netizen.

Netizens are now wondering what happened to that 2016 version of Sotto, the one who was vocal about his political beliefs. Recently, the Pasig mayor was also under fire for keeping his silence over the past national elections. His silence prompted many to tag him as an enabler.

“Quotes [really] defending Vico that he’s just being “professional” since [Marcos Jr. is] already President when we all know damn well that his silence was LOUD even when Marcos Jr. was just a candidate,” tweeted another netizen.

Others understand that Mayor Vico Sotto is being professional

“Myghad! Ano bang inaasahan niyo kay Vico? Reject the president?,” said a netizen. “Like, hello? Mayor lang siya? Does breathing the same air as Marcos make him an enabler?”

While some were disappointed in Sotto, others understood that he couldn’t exactly ignore the presence of the president visiting his city. He was simply showing his respect for a government official in a higher position.

“Perhaps Vico’s action is more leaning towards respecting the Office, but not the holder of the Office. It’s courtesy after all,” read one post.

Think of it like you would at your workplace. Even if you disagree (or even dislike) your boss, you would still welcome them to your office, right? They do, after all, rank higher than you. In Sotto’s case, forbidding the president from entering Pasig City like netizens wanted him to will only backfire on the people.

“The President literally has an oversight capacity over any city mayor. Lol. What would you like to happen to Pasig City if Vico would do what you want him to do? Magdusa?” said one netizen.

It’s not black and white

Other netizens also called for “cancel culture kids to take a chill pill and give Vico a break.” Just because the president and the mayor shook hands at a health event doesn’t mean they now share the same beliefs. It also doesn’t mean that Sotto has lost the morals that earned him everyone’s respect in the first place.

“We are not living in an ideal world and ideal politics. Reformists like Mayor Vico do not have ideal choices all the time. They/we have to work with and around these dynamics and set up to introduce reforms,” one Twitter user wrote.

Full trust in Mayor Vico Sotto

In the midst of the online meltdown, a few netizens still expressed their trust in the young Pasig mayor.

“We can’t expect nor demand that Vico Sotto closes the gates of Pasig to the President. His personal stand and opinion against him should not stand in the way of getting support from the government for the people of Pasig. I trust and [am] still confident that Vico knows what he is doing,” said another netizen who had total faith in Sotto.

Meanwhile, others are still expecting Sotto to run for president once he qualifies.

What do you think of netizens taking issue with Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto welcoming President Marcos Jr.?

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