The U.S. State Department has recognized Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto as one the world's twelve Anti-Corruption Champions, validating the millennial leader's efforts to transform patronage-based politics.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the award is individuals who "worked tirelessly, often in the face of adversity, to defend transparency, combat corruption, and ensure accountability in their own countries."
"Around the world, corruption threatens security and stability, hinders economic growth, undermines democracy and human rights, destroys trust in public institutions, facilitates transnational crime, and siphons away public and private resources," Blinken said.
Blinken said the only way to successfully combat the global threat of corruption is to collaborate with committed partners, including "courageous individuals who champion anticorruption efforts and countries working to fulfill their commitments to international anticorruption standards."
The State Department said that "Sotto has sought to solidify his reputation as a fresh voice with a new, more transparent approach to governance."
Sotto's win during the 2019 elections came as a bit of a surprise. Sure, he was a popular candidate, but the millennial mayor jumped straight from local council to a mayoral seat—and he was up against the Eusebios, a family that had been holding political sway over Pasig City since 1992. Since then, Sotto has been in the headlines for his hands-on approach, his administration's transparency, and throughout the entire 2020 shitshow, the city's efficiency (sadly, a thing unusual enough to be celebrated in the Philippines) at handling the pandemic.
The young mayor joins eleven other names from accross the globe on the U.S. State Department's list of International Anti-Corruption Champions:
- Ardian Dvorani of Albania
- Diana Salazar of Ecuador
- Sophia Pretrick of the Federated States of Micronesia
- uan Francisco Sandoval Alfaro of Guatemala
- Ibrahima Kalil Gueye of Guinea
- Anjali Bhardwaj of India
- Dhuha A. Mohammed of Iraq
- Bolot Temirov of the Kyrgyz Republic
- Mustafa Abdullah Sanalla of Libya
- Francis Ben Kaifala of Sierra Leone
- Ruslan Ryaboshapka of Ukraine
This story originally appeared on Reportr.world. Minor edits have been made by the SPOT.ph editors.
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