Vice presidential aspirant Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Sunday said a vice president can help run the country even without holding any Cabinet post.

At the Commission on Elections-organized debates at the Sofitel Plaza, Sotto said the second-highest seat is not a “spare tire”, or elected to just assume the presidency in case of the death, disability or resignation of the incumbent president.

“Una sa lahat, hindi naman talaga spare tire talaga ang pangalawang pangulo kung alam mo ang gagawin. Kahit hindi ka bigyan ng posisyon. With the clout of the Office of the Vice President, marami ka magagawa (First of all, the Vice President is not really a spare tire if you know what to do, even if you are not given any Cabinet post. With the clout of the Office of the Vice President, you can do a lot),” he said, in response to a question on reforming the Constitution and giving the vice president post more responsibilities.

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Under Article 7, Section 3 of the Constitution, the vice president may be appointed as a member of the Cabinet.

In previous interviews, Sotto said he was against amending the 1987 Constitution, saying he does not see the immediate need for it.

In the same debate, Sotto said he does not favor tandem voting or selecting a ticket rather than individual voting for candidates running as president and vice president, saying it defeats the purpose of check and balance.

“In the Philippines, (there are) 64 million voters, we will allow the presidential candidate na siya ang magbubuo ng (select the) Vice President? 64 million Filipinos ‘yun po dapat ang bumoto kung sino ang gusto niyang maging leader ng bansa, ‘di ba (64 million Filipinos must be allowed to cast their vote on who they want to be the country’s leaders),” Sotto said. (PNA)