As a garbage collector who used to climb Smokey Mountain and a side car boy who grew up in a squatter colony in Tondo, newly elected Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso now has been able to reach the highest elective post of Manila, the country’s capital city.
A lot of people, Moreno himself included, doubted that he could snatch the mayoralty post from reelectionist and former President Joseph Estrada.
Yet on Sunday, he took his oath as the 27th elected mayor of Manila before Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin Jr.
Moreno thanked his mother, Rosario, for witnessing what he described as a “momentous event” in his life, and his deceased father, Joaquin, who taught him that poverty should not be a hindrance to reaching his dreams.
Moreno, who served as vice mayor for nine years, vowed to serve the city he calls home with honesty and transparency from Day 1.
He said an open governance policy will be the cornerstone of his administration.
“We will use the power of technology and the reach of social media to crowdsource ideas and implement best practices, punish bad behavior, and reward good performance. If we want to win the future, and join the league of great cities of the world, we cannot run on the software of the past,” he said.
“Just a tweet or chat on Messenger, I can already feel you. I can feel your presence. Follow my live feeds while we are pushing for reforms,” Moreno said.
On the traffic gridlocks that have been hounding Manila for years, Moreno said there must be a stop to the tyranny in the streets by getting rid of “kotong” cops and clearing of sidewalks.
He likewise bared his plan to request the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and Universidad de Manila to create an Institute of Transportation and Traffic Management to boost traffic discipline.
“We will work to make Manila an example of a good smart city with the Traffic Security and Disaster Management System and modern Command Center,” he said.
He also cited the need to build a Manila-wide monorail system or a Manila Sky Shuttle through a private-public partnership arrangement.
“We have to dream big. We may short of funds, but not of ideas. The last thing my administration will be guilty of is poverty of ideas,” he said.