Ex-bureaucrat accused Vico Sotto of vote buying; was there basis?

PASIG CITY, Philippines – A former city hall employee said he filed a petition to disqualify Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto over vote buying, but admitted he did not know Sotto had secured an exemption from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the supposedly unlawful assistance distribution he flagged.

Vic Barral, who said he held a “high position” in the local government before Sotto’s administration, told reporters and vloggers at a media conference on Saturday, May 10, that he filed the petition with the Comelec the previous day.