Aksyong Demokratiko presidential bet Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Tuesday again said that he is not a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military arm, the New People’s Army.
“I am no communist. I believe in democracy, in equal opportunity. I believe you, when you work hard, you can spend, you can reap the fruits of your labor. You have the right to enjoy. Equal opportunities in commerce. In fact, I don’t want too much government control over commerce. That doesn’t apply to communism,” Moreno said in a media forum.
CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison confirmed that Domagoso is not a communist nor a supporter of the CPP because “he is not qualified to be one.”
It can be recalled that Domagoso served as an observer during the peace talks between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front, a coalition of underground revolutionary organizations that are believed to be under the baton of communist party leaders based in the Netherlands.
It was during the series of peace negotiations he attended as an observer that Domagoso came to know Sison and other top officials of the CPP and NDF.
Domagoso said he suspects political operators working for other candidates are behind attempts to red-tag him to the point of saying that he is “a communist and NPA.”
Domagoso maintained that there is only one country and one flag and he is duty-bound to defend its territorial integrity. He also said he is willing to resume the stalled peace talks should he become president in 2022.
The Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer pointed out that “peace is a very expensive and hard-to-find word but we must seek for it because peace brings us better things.”
“We need a government that has an ear, listens to all sectors. You cannot govern if you are alone,” Domagoso said.
Meanwhile, Domagoso vowed to uphold the “rule of law” in dealing with the shenanigans of past leaders and not by political vendetta as what other presidential candidates would like to do.
“Thieves will be held accountable. Those who kill, will be held accountable. Those who make money during the pandemic will be held accountable. But I don’t want to be like those who would get back at them just because they are political opponents,” Domagoso said in an interview with veteran journalist Luchi Cruz-Valdes of TV 5.
According to Moreno, his administration will be a “healing presidency” and this he was able to practice when he became mayor in 2019, beating two political giants including former President Joseph Estrada and former police general Alfredo Lim.