Presidential candidate Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso has vowed to replicate the housing projects he did in Manila to the rest of the country if he is elected president in 2022 elections.
Speaking to residents and barangay officials at the Material and Recovery Facility in Payatas, Quezon City, Moreno expressed his commitment to take care of the future of children living in informal settler communities by providing them with quality education while their parents go to their jobs to earn a decent living.
“If I am lucky, what I did in Manila about housing, I will do all over the country. I want the dignity of the poor restored. All I can give you is peace of mind,” Moreno told a crowd of mostly garbage workers.
Moreno achieved great success in building mass housing projects for the city’s poor residents. Last July, the Manila government awarded 229 townhouse-style units to residents of Baseco in Tondo.
Three vertical housing projects named Tondominium 1, Tondominium 2, and Binondominium are expected to be finished and awarded to residents before the end of the year. Similar vertical housing projects are also being built – the Pedro Gil and San Sebastian Residences.
Meanwhile, the Manila city government kicked off its Christmas celebration with the lighting of its giant Christmas tree at the Bonifacio Shrine beside the Manila City Hall.
Domagoso and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna spearheaded the lighting of the giant Christmas tree, which signals the beginning of the Yuletide celebration in the capital city.
He also led the groundbreaking of the new Plaza Yuchengco along Muelle del Banco National, another open air promenade in Escolta which is hoped to become a “lovers’ lane.”
City Engineer Armand Andres said the new promenade will cover a stretch of about 300 meters covering four streets—Yuchengco, Soda, Pinpin and Burke Streets from Jones Bridge to MacArthur Bridge.
It will display the best flowering native trees. It will have a main plaza with markers, 24 double lamp posts, concrete walkways with bike lanes, plant boxes and green spaces and benches, among others.
Once a garbage collector himself, Moreno was greeted by around 300 garbage workers and junk shop operators who are all based in Quezon City.
One of the country’s largest dumpsites was located in Payatas. A “trash slide” 21 years ago left over 200 people dead. The Payatas dumpsite was closed in 2010.
If he wins the 2022 presidential race, Moreno vowed to push for other waste disposal technologies, and expand the number of recycling facilities in the country.
“The government can raise the standard of living of the people. I will take care of your children’s future. I will give you the opportunity to earn a living,” Moreno said.
During his dialogue with the people of Payatas, the 47-year-old Moreno also declared the end of elitist leadership has started and it’s the time of scavengers to shine and lead the people.
“The era of the elitists is over. It’s now time for garbage collectors to rise up,” he told a cheering crowd wearing blue T-shirts with the words “Ako si Isko” in front and “Francisco Isko Moreno Domagoso” at the back.
A child scavenger before becoming an actor then entering politics in the 1990s, Moreno said that his heart is very close to the experiences of many residents in Payatas as the former Payatas Dumpsite is considered to be the second “Smokey Mountain” in Metro Manila.
Citing himself as an example, he also encouraged Payatas residents living in poverty not to lose hope despite hardships and continue to strive hard for a better future in life. He also advised parents to work hard so that they can send their children to school, get a job, and lift themselves from poverty.
“Here in Payatas, you are no longer new to me. Third, Smokey Mountain is the former Payatas Dumpsite. In that environment I learned to work hard and make a living,” Moreno said.
“That is why you have come here, don’t ever give up. It’s okay that we are poor now, but our children don’t have to be poor one day. So, educate them, carry them, cross them, take care of them because my success can also be the success of your children. It happened to me, it can happen to you too,” an emotional Moreno added.
The Aksyon Demokratiko president said that under an Isko Moreno presidency, the national government will be there to support the people to rise up from the clutches of poverty.
“To our mothers and fathers here, this is all I can tell you, life is hard. We are not blessed to have a parent with a golden spoon in his mouth but that does not mean our life in society is insignificant. In fact, the government should have given emphasis on you. As (Ramon) Magsaysay said, the government should be a little biased towards your needs,” Moreno said.
Moreno thanked Payatas residents for the warm welcome he received from them. He said that he and the rest of Aksyon Demokratiko candidates will continue to travel around the country to reach as many Filipinos as they can to know how they are doing and get their thoughts on the many issues affecting them.
“God have mercy on us! As long as we go around the whole Philippines. I will try to reach the majority of our society to hear the status of our countrymen,” Moreno vowed.
Meanwhile, youth groups supporting the presidential bid of Moreno held the “Layag National Youth Convention” on Sunday and presented the “Youth Agenda” to the Aksyon Demokratiko candidates who attended the event.
In Butuan City, thousands of Isko Moreno supporters held a motorcade in what was dubbed as the 1st Blue Wave Caravan in Mindanao. Wearing Blue T-shirts, motorcycle riders numbering more than 1,000 motored around the city Sunday to drum up support for the Aksyon Demokratiko presidential aspirant.
At the Garden Plaza Hotel in Manila, 100 youth leaders submitted their sectoral agenda to the Isko Moreno Team led by vice presidential bet Dr. Willie Ong and senatorial bets Carl Balita, Samira Gutoc, and Jopet Sison.
The Youth Agenda included several action points for youth development, including the institutionalization of full autonomy for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), as well as honorarium and benefits for SK councilors, secretaries, and treasurers; postponement of the 2022 barangay and SK elections; mandatory funding for local youth development councils; and support for the programs of the National Youth Commission.
It also highlighted several demands for the education sector, such as additional budget for public schools, state universities, and local universities; cash aid for K-12 students;
Other proposed courses of action include free access to mental health services; moratorium on land conversion; enactment of an anti-political dynasty law and Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) law; and the genuine rehabilitation of Marawi.
In a recorded message, Moreno pointed out that young people play a crucial role in pushing his presidential campaign forward.
“It is difficult for us to fight. But I believe that with your help and our unity, we can overcome this voyage in what we are doing now,” said Moreno, who has been on a“ listening tour ”in various provinces in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog with his Aksyon Demokratiko team.
Ong, who represented Moreno in the Youth Convention, said securing accessible services and affordable medicines for young people, especially those with mental health issues, will be one of his priorities if he wins as vice president next year.
“If I really fix the healthcare, your parents really won’t burden you anymore, they will ask you for money,” said Ong, who is both a cardiologist and internist.