Presidential candidate and Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Thursday urged the public not to be taken in by false promises amid the torrent of misleading claims made by candidates that is typical in any election cycle.
“Be careful countrymen. They are now offering false promises. Can’t you hear? They are saying prices of rice will go down. Don’t believe that rice will be P12 (per kilo) again. It is not true that they will return it to their time. That is not true, that is in the past,” Moreno told about 2,000 traders and transport sector members in the CMA market in Antipolo City, Rizal.
Moreno said it is for this reason and his love for the ordinary people that made him decide to apply for President of the Republic, to offer to the public a serious and highly qualified candidate willing to change the system of governance in the country that was ruled mostly by elitist politicians for the past 60 years.
The 47-year-old presidential aspirant sees it as an obligation to bring about an inclusive and equitable government focused on uplifting the lives of the masses because he is one of them, having been raised in the slums of Tondo where he was forced to scavenge for leftover food, and later collected trash and became a pedicab driver.
“We are not blessed. Unlike other runners—son of the president, gold is here, gold spoon in the mouth, that’s why we can’t understand our lives,” he said. “The real life of man is you. Your life is the real life of the Philippines.”
If elected president, Moreno said his first priorities would be to provide the minimum basic needs of the people—housing, education, health and employment—for them to weather the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic.
Like what he had done in Manila, the local chief executive said he will build more public housing, more public hospitals, more public-school buildings and create more job opportunities.
“I will continue President Rodrigo Duterte’s Build, Build, Build program and we will add our own Build, Build, Build – to build more housing, hospitals, schools and jobs,” he said.
He would also cut by half the excise taxes on oil and electricity to alleviate the sufferings of the people, raise their income, increase their purchasing power, and stimulate consumer spending.
However, Moreno said he could only do all these if he is elected, thus the support of the ordinary people is crucial for his success since he has no gold nor billions for his campaign.
“So, help us with Doc Willie Ong, (senatorial candidates) Samira Gutoc, Jopet Sison and Carl Balita. Piso-piso lang,” he said, referring to text messages or social media posts.
“Because you spent on me, you will charge me. My payment, on the other hand, is simple: you will have a good, prudent and efficient government. People first. Because you are the only one who draws courage—man, man, man,” Moreno said.
Meanwhile, Ong, Gutoc and Sison said Moreno’s achievements in Manila are proof that his promises are all based on real achievements, not just things that other candidates will still have to do.
Ong said among Moreno’s achievements included: the modern Ospital ng Maynila, vertical housing like Tondominium and Binondominium, modern 10-story public school buildings, social services for senior citizens, and assistance to public school students and teachers in the form of allowances, tablets and free bandwidth, among others.
He said Moreno also embarked on a massive vaccination drive that is open even to non-residents of the city, even giving COVID drugs like molnupiravir, remdesivir and tocilizumab for free to whoever needs the life-saving drugs.
Gutoc said she left her 6-year-old child to join Team Isko because she saw in Moreno the compassion for his fellowmen.
Sison said people only have to look at Moreno’s many accomplishments to see who among the candidates deserved to be the next president.