Aksyon Demokratiko presidential candidate and Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso said the success of his “Bilis Kilos” agenda of governance in Manila will be replicated in the entire country if he is elected president in next year’s 2022 elections.
“We are in a pandemic. Man’s life and future depend on it. So I thought that what we did in Manila, we will do all over the country, ”Moreno said in a radio interview.
The “Bilis Kilos” 10-Point Agenda of Governance reflects the accomplishments of Moreno as Manila mayor, which include the construction of mass housing for the poor of Baseco, Tondo, and Binondo; the construction of a COVID-19 field hospital and a new Ospital ng Maynila; provision of free antigen testing and free Remdisivir and Tocilizumab for COVID patients; and the continuous delivery of relief boxes to residents.
“People need to feel that someone cares about their government. It’s doable. What’s good is that it can be done. It’s not impossible,” Moreno stressed.
During the Presidentiables’ Forum hosted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Moreno reiterated that his immediate priority would be to strengthen the country’s health system amid the pandemic and revive small industries to create more jobs and opportunities for Filipinos.
“I will devote the first two years of my administration towards reinforcing our health system to best cope with the pandemic, looking at future possible outbreaks and be prepared for the same in any eventuality, even as we do everything to revive and rehabilitate our economy, to create more jobs, more business and more opportunity,” Moreno said
The Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer said an “Isko Moreno government” will also focus on the minim basic needs of the people, especially those that will improve our human development index – health, education, housing, jobs, and livelihood.
“We must build more and better health facilities while addressing problems of malnutrition and mental health. We must also improve our tech-voc courses to include the adoption of technologies of the fourth industrial revolution such as robotics, and automation and create more accurate artificial intelligence models,” Moreno said.
The 47-year-old mayor said just like in Manila, his government would support public education by providing public school students nationwide with tablets and free bandwidth, school supplies and Covid hygiene kits. Public school teachers will also be given laptops and free bandwidth connection.
To address the perennial housing problem, he said the Moreno government will emphasize socialized housing as the new focus of the Build, Build, Build (BBB) program.
“Whenever we make housing available and affordable for the poor, we give back human dignity to every family who is a beneficiary of the program,” Moreno said.
“We must also build more and better health facilities, while addressing problems of malnutrition and mental health,” he added.
Domagoso further said the time of the elitists has come to an end, mentioning his life experience as a garbage picker.
Domagoso was in Payatas in Quezon City, where he met with residents and those who rely on scavenging as their main, if not only, source of livelihood.
In his message, Domagoso told the Payatas residents not to give up hope, as he vowed to uplift their lives if he becomes the President of the country.
The mayor also told the residents that if they want real, honest change to come to their lives through the help of government, they should learn to ‘invest.’
“The government can increase the level of the lives of people and that is shat I will do for you,” assured Domagoso who also grew up scavenging for discarded and recyclable materials in Smokey Mountain in Tondo, which is Manila’s counterpart of Payatas.
In Manila, Domagoso embarked on seven housing projects for the poor, renters, and city employees who do not have their own homes. With Macon Ramos-Araneta