Isko Moreno equates ‘tanim bala’ to Poe’s disqualification cases

Manila Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Senatorial bet Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno likened on Thursday the disqualification (DQ) cases being filed against Senator Grace Poe to the alleged “tanim-bala” scam in the country’s airports.

In the case of Poe, an independent candidate for president in 2016, Moreno said the “tanim-DQ” is being done by people who want to stop her presidential bid.

“Sa mga airport natin, usong uso ang tanim-bala, pero sa pulitika, ang ginagawa laban kay Senator Grace Poe ay tanim-DQ (In our airports, tanim-bala is very prevalent, but in politics, what’s being done against Senator Grace Poe is tanim-DQ),” he said in an interview after speaking at an annual gathering of the Southern Tagalog Association of Water Districts in a hotel in Manila.

Moreno, who is part of Poe’s senatorial slate, said the filing of disqualification cases against Poe was “nothing but an orchestrated and sinister attempt to take her out of the presidential race.”

Asked who could be behind the “tanim-DQ” against Poe, the vice mayor said he could not specifically name any person or group but said, “Logic dictates that whoever will benefit from Senator Poe’s disqualification would certainly be a suspect.”

Moreno also questioned the timing of the cases, noting that not a single case was filed against Poe when she ran for senator in 2013 even though the qualifications for those who are running for senator, vice president and president are identical then and now.

“Bakit ngayon lang? (Why only now?)” he asked.

He said it was not Poe’s fault that she is a foundling, which is one of the reasons being cited in one of the disqualification cases filed against her over her citizenship.

Moreno then appealed to those behind the disqualification bids against Poe to just let the people decide whom they want to become the next president.

He also urged the public to denounce the “Tanim-DQ” by using the hashtag #StopTanimDQ in social media venues and other fora to express displeasure and protest the unfair treatment on Senator Poe.

“We should let them know that, whatever they do, our support for Senator Grace Poe will never waver,” said the senatorial bet. JE