Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos (left) and Vice President Leni Robredo
MANILA, Philippines — Supporters of presidential candidate and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Saturday urged voters to elect other candidates aside from former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Leni Robredo, whose interests, they say are “aligned” despite being rivals.
“They may have different surnames, but their interests align. Wala silang pinagka-iba; pare-pareho lang sila,” Rom-Voltaire Quizon, the spokesperson of the Isko Moreno Lawyers and Volunteers, said in a statement on Saturday.
“We therefore call on our Filipino people to vote with their eyes open. Look around you and see if your lives and your country have been bettered under the rules of the two families who have lorded it over our beloved country’s politics for over 50 years,” Quizon added.
Quizon justified this assessment by pointing out that the estate tax liabilities of the Marcoses which has ballooned to P203 billion has remained uncollected since the June 1997 Supreme Court ruling.
This included the administration of the late President Benigno S. Aquino, which the group associates with Robredo, who is the current chairperson of the Liberal Party.
Robredo, however, ran as an independent candidate.
“If they cannot exact something as simple as taxes, how do they expect to exact justice when they failed to do so during the Aquino administration? Even a ‘daang matuwid’ needs money for maintenance, which perhaps explains why our roads are in such a state of disrepair,” Quizon pointed out.
“So, wala talaga silang pinagkaiba. One family refused to pay; the other family refused to collect,” he added.
Moreno has presented himself as an alternative to what he calls a “feud” between two groups which the mayor said have been ruling in the country for decades.