The endorsement from the Garcia clan of Cebu could possibly happen after Deputy Speaker Pablo John “PJ” Garcia introduced Aksyon Demokratiko presidential candidate Isko Moreno Domagoso as the “next President of the Republic of the Philippines” during an event at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Monday evening.
CEBU CITY – The endorsement from the Garcia clan of Cebu seems very possible after Deputy Speaker Pablo John “PJ” Garcia introduced Aksyon Demokratiko presidential candidate Isko Moreno Domagoso as the “next President of the Republic of the Philippines” during an event at the Cebu Provincial Capitol Monday evening.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor, and I am humbled to introduce to you tonight the man who is to be the next president of the Philippines, Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso,” said Garcia during the Sugbo Negosyo awarding ceremonies that was attended by all the mayors of Cebu’s 50 local government units, provincial officials of national agencies, and officers of the business sector.
Prior to his announcement, the secretary-general of One Cebu — the biggest and most influential party in the province — heaped glowing praises to the many accomplishments of the 47-year-old presidential aspirant as a person and as local chief executive of the City of Manila.
“I am tasked with introducing a man who has fascinated even before there is a whisper of his candidacy for president of the Republic of the Philippines. Our guest tonight was elected the youngest councilor in the history of the City of Manila, youngest vice mayor in the history of the City of Manila, and in 2019 was elected the youngest mayor in the history of the City of Manila,” he said.
“And the City of Manila may have seen in this man so much that they have entrusted their future to this young man, the premier capital of the Republic of the Philippines,” Garcia said.
He noted Moreno’s achievements in the areas of health and sanitation, public housing and environment among others, in just a span of less than three years.
These included cleaning up the city in a matter of a few months, building modern hospitals like the 10-story, fully air-conditioned new Ospital ng Maynila, and quality public housing like Tondominium that gives dignity to poor Manileñans, to name a few.
“Where before Manila was a dirty, smog-filled city, people can now breathe with the many green public place he has brought back to life. Even the Manila Zoo, which until his mayorship was virtually a dung-heap, dirty and smelly, has now been revived and brought back to life,” Garcia said.
“And all this achievement is even more impressive when we consider where he began, his beginnings as a squatter in Tondo. He became, because he needed to, worked as a basurero at the age of 10. When you consider where he began and where he is now, and when you consider how he has brought Manila up with him, that is indeed quite impressive,” Garcia said.
He said he sees all of these because the theme and story of Moreno’s life is really what the Sugbo Negosyo awarding is all about.
“When you come from such beginnings at the bottom of the economic strata of society, what you need to succeed – resilience, perseverance innovation, creativity – is what the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) really need to succeed,” said Garcia.
“And having heard of Sugbo Negosyo, he (Moreno) said that if he is elected president, he will certainly replicate this program and its success in the entire Philippine archipelago,” he said to warm applause from the dignitaries of the province.
Congressman PJ Garcia personally accompanied Moreno as he visited Lapu-Lapu City, Naga City, Balamban and Carmen on Sunday and Monday. He also personally accompanied Moreno during his visits in Barili, Dumanjug, and Moalboal during Moreno’s November 5 and 6 Cebu Listening Tour.
This time around, Moreno was invited to grace Sugbo Negosyo, the brainchild of Governor Gwen Garcia, which can serve as a model for the recovery MSMEs in the time of the pandemic.
Moreno said he is very grateful for the support extended by Governor Gwen and Cong. PJ. “I am honored and humbled by the hospitality of the Garcia family, and the warmth given to me by Cebuanos,” he said.
The 47-year-old presidential aspirant also reiterated his vow to make Governor Gwen’s highly-successful Sugbo Negosyo as a model for MSMEs’ Recovery under an “Isko Moreno Presidency.”
“Akala ko maganda na yung ginawa natin sa Maynila on how to survive business, on how to support business, only to find out ang pinaka-magandang idea pala na worth emulating, and Congressman Garcia is correct when I said it today that may awa ang Diyos, someday somehow, hihiramin ko na ito para sa DTI ng buong bansa,” he said.
“Now is not the time to make more promises, the only thing that I can promise here is kokopyahin ko itong ginawa ninyo sa Cebu province para sa mga kababayan natin na bigyan ng hanapbuhay,” said Moreno.