FILE PHOTO: Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. Screenshot from Radyo Inquirer.
MANILA, Philippines — If elected president, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Thursday said he will address the perennial problems of poverty, hunger, unemployment, inequality and social injustice by focusing on providing the basic needs of the people.
During the Presidential One-on-One Interviews hosted by entertainment host Boy Abunda, Moreno said that it is his aim to provide sufficient housing, education, health care and jobs through the efficient and prudent management of government resources.
“I do believe the minimum, basic needs. When we address housing, education, health care and jobs, this will alleviate the status, ang kalalagayan ng ating bayan,” Moreno said.
“That’s why since time immemorial nung ako’y mag-gobyerno, eto na ang tinutukan ko. Nung ako’y mag-alkalde, yun ang ginagawa ko lahat. Pabahay, eskwelahan, ospital, trabaho,” he added.
The 47-year-old presidential aspirant and standard bearer of Aksyon Demokratiko cited the many infrastructure projects that he had initiated, like the six vertical housing projects for informal settlers, dubbed the Tondominium and Binondominium, with some buildings even having swimming pools and fitness centers.
Moreno likewise touted three modern public school buildings being built that are 10 floors high, outfitted with around 200 air-conditioned classrooms, basketball courts, gyms, and roof decks.
Also worth mentioning, he said, was the recently-inaugurated ten-story Bagong Ospital ng Maynila, which boasted of 384 beds with 12 intensive care units (ICUs), and 20 private rooms. The hospital has a three-story parking building and a helipad for emergency medical evacuations.
These were all undertaken by the City Government of Manila under Moreno’s leadership to provide Manileños, especially the needy, with quality housing, education, and health care and service.
Furthermore, these projects were all achieved in a single three-year mayoral term and during a pandemic at that, generating a lot of jobs and income at a time when people greatly needed both.
Moreno said his infrastructure projects not only created direct jobs and income, but also supported a host of industries, like cement, steel, quarry and gasoline, among others, thus providing more jobs and income.
“So you must be aggressive. That is why when I said I will continue the build, build, build of President Duterte, but build more schools, build more hospitals, build more housing. Because this will generate jobs and stimulate our economy, and this creates opportunities to business and to the people,” he told Abunda.
Moreno said his administration will ensure that infrastructure and other developments projects will be undertaken in areas where they are needed most to further accelerate the economy and bring about a more inclusive and equitable economic growth.
“That’s why when I said about a few weeks ago, a peso spent in Metro Manila doesn’t give us any growth. The same peso that I’m going to spend in terms of development in Metro Manila, I will spend it in the far-flung areas because it will generate more economic growth and opportunities in the provinces,” Moreno said.
Besides building public schools, hospitals and mass housing, Moreno earlier promised to build bridges across major islands of the Philippine archipelago which will not just facilitate the exchange of goods and services, but will also serve as tourism circuits and tourism highways.
He also vowed to build post-harvest facilities, build more irrigation systems and improve existing ones, and a national fiber optic backbone, among others.
To further alleviate the plight of the masses and protect industries, Moreno also vowed to work closely with Congress to reduce the taxes on two of most basic of commodities – petroleum and electricity.
Bringing down the cost of fuel and electricity also encourages foreign investors to bring their business in the country, he said.
“You have to create more FDIs. If you create more foreign direct investments, then it will generate more opportunities. At the rate we’re going about $4 billion, yung mga neighboring countries natin, $13 billion, $30 billion. Why? Napakamahal ng gasoline natin, napakamahal ng kuryente natin,” Moreno said.
While he may have enumerated a number of solutions to particular problems besieging the country, he said that no amount of promises nor slogan can solve the nation’s ills without hard work.
“Oo nga pala, wala akong slogan. Kasi ang slogan hindi naman yan gumagamot sa problema ng tao. In fact ang tawag ko dyan ‘poverty porn,’ yung ginagahasa mo yung kahinaan ng tao,” he said.
“Ako, sa dami ng problema, sa bilis ng problema, kailangan natin ng mga tunay na solusyon at mabilis na aksyon. That, I can do in my own little way,” said Moreno.