Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Try being hermano mayor.
Former President and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada was apparently irked with Noli de Castro after the broadcaster and former vice president assailed the local government’s failed attempts to control vendors from obstructing the annual Black Nazarene procession.
“Be a hermano mayor first. Let him try,” Estrada said during an interview with Julius Babao over dzMM Teleradyo on Friday.
The comment came a couple of days after De Castro received flak for allegedly cutting off Winnie Cordero as she reported on the city’s preparations for the feast of the Black Nazarene.
During a live segment of TV Patrol, De Castro, a Nazarene devotee, said Estrada failed to deliver on his promise to act on ambulant vendors before. Cordero was about to add to her report but the anchorman cut her off to lead to the segment’s extro.
“Yung mga reklamo ni dating Vice President Noli de Castro, yung tungkol sa mga vendors, alam mo Julius, yung mga vendors pag ordinary days talagang…nababantayan namin,” Estrada, this year’s hermano mayor of the Feast of the Black Nazarene, told Babao.
(The complaints of Vice President Noli de Castro, about the vendors…you know, during ordinary days we are able to monitor them.)
But when the crowd reaches hundreds of thousands or even millions, the situation becomes extremely difficult to control, Estrada said.
“Yung mga vendor, mga isang kahig isang tuka yan eh. Talagang hand-to-mouth yan eh so kahit na papano kaysa magnakaw sila, makakapaghanapbuhay sila, may maiuuwi sila sa mga magulang nila,” Estrada added.
(Those vendors are living on a hand-to-mouth basis so instead of stealing, at least they are able to earn a living, they are able to give parents money to their parents.)
Estrada said deploying 50 or even 50,000 policemen was not enough to contain the millions of people participating in the yearly procession.
Nevertheless, he said the city government has done everything to manage the vendors.
At one point, Estrada said De Castro should understand the situation of the informal sector.
“Eh sya naman galing doon dapat naiintindihan nya,” he said, referring to De Castro’s devotion to the Nazarene.
“Medyo hinahanapan kami ng butas eh. Hanapan nya kami ng malaking butas. Pabayaan na nya makasingit yung mga mahihirap na tao para di sila magnakaw. Lagi ko sinasabi, hungry stomach knows no law. Dapat nyang malaman yun,” Estrada said.
(He’s looking for flaws. He should just let the poor people earn a living. As I always say, a hungry stomach knows no law. He should know that.)
RELATED STORIES
Did Noli De Castro lose cool during broadcast? Netizens irked
No selfie, no booze for Nazarene feast