PROMDI presidential candidate Sen. Manny Pacquiao took his campaign to Sta. Mesa, Manila on a train, to show the strength of his ground-swelling grassroots support even without the backing of traditional political machinery.
Taking the PNR train in Makati, Pacquiao and PDP-Laban senatorial candidate Lutz Barbo travelled to Sta. Mesa to consult with vendors who he said are constant victims of extortion and clearing operations.
Pacquiao said he would also pursue President Rodrigo Duterte’s program to modernize the country’s rail and mass transport network.
Furthermore, he would build another rail system on top of the existing one as part of his plan to decongest Metro Manila traffic. The old line will be used for containers and cargo while the elevated rail system will be for commuter trains.
“Railway is the most effective, cheapest, and most environment friendly mode of moving goods and people. We will focus on that,” Pacquiao said.
Sharing his experience after taking the PNR, Pacquiao said Duterte had a done good job in improving the country’s oldest train system.
Pacquiao then told the vendors he can fully relate with their hardships because he also used to sell flowers at the Quiapo and Baclaran churches to augment his income as a construction worker and support his family.
Aside from selling flowers, Pacquiao also repacked garlic and pepper, which he sold to small sari-sari stores—before becoming one of the world’s highest paid athletes as an eight-division champion boxer.
Pacquiao said the people’s hopelessness and the systemic corruption that is pushing the country to bankruptcy forced him to run for the country’s highest office.
He said he decided to act because he has grown tired of hearing traditional politicians giving false hopes to Filipinos, especially the poor.
If elected as president, Pacquiao said his administration will provide free decent homes for all homeless families and extend zero-to-low interest loans for those who want to set up small businesses.
He said that providing capital for vendors and other micro, small and medium enterprises will not only help provide livelihood for millions of jobless Filipinos but would also trigger a domino effect to perk up the country’s economy.
Under his administration, Pacquiao would not allow clearing operations for vendors without any prior relocation program.
He said his program to provide loan facilities for MSMEs is part of his “HEALTH of the Nation” policy platform.
HEALTH stands for Housing, Education, Aid and Agriculture, Livelihood, Transportation and Telecommunications, and Health.
In his talks with the vendors, they shared their stories of hardships to Pacquiao.
Altura Vendors Association president Rosita Ching said their lived got even worse when the pandemic hit because they had to stop selling due to the quarantine lockdowns.
Mayen Regino, head of the PUP Vendors Association, related to Pacquiao that after 22 years as a vendor, she lost her only means of livelihood after she and her fellow vendors near the Polytechnic University of the Philippines were forcibly evicted by local government authorities.