Protesters vs planned city hall not Pasig residents, says Sotto

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Monday said that those who attended the rally against his administration’s plan to construct a new city hall on Monday were not residents of Pasig City.

The rally -- supposedly organized by a group called 'Save Pasig Org' – protested in front of the Pasig City Hall, where Sotto said that most of the protesters raised their hands when he asked who among them were from Quezon City.

"If you're a Pasigueño, I'm sure you know that there was crack inside the city hall building, but I know that some of you here came from Quezon City and Caloocan City," Sotto told the protesters in Filipino.

"We're transparent here in Pasig. Ask me, I won't be angry. All of our transactions are transparent," he added.

One of the protesters, a resident of Barangay Holy Spirit, said that he was picked up in Quezon City while another protester said she joined the trip to Pasig City to express her support for the mayor.

According to Sotto, some ground leaders claimed that St. Gerrard Construction -- a quadruple A construction firm based in Pasig City -- is behind the propaganda against the new city hall project.

"Probably the rallyists were brought by St. Gerrard, you see the dirty tactics,” he said.

Save Pasig Org said it will file charges against Sotto with the Office of the Ombudsman, according to Baldo Balbadores, a market vendor's leader who joined the rally.

He also denied that he brought protesters from Quezon City.

"I'm alone but I really have companions from Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City,” said Balbadores. "I have no idea like that because I'm a marker vendor, I am the president of an organization in the market. I am not from St. Gerrard.”