As neither a child of a rich or powerful political clan or dynasty, nor the spouse of anyone who has held power in the past, Manila City mayor and presidential candidate Isko Moreno called on the country’s basic sectors––farmers, fisherfolk, vendors, and ordinary citizens––to help one of their own win the nation’s highest office.
In his column on Monday in a major Philippine daily, Moreno stressed that he does not have “well-oiled political machinery to back my candidacy; there is no other politician bearing my surname (Domagoso) in the entire country.”
“These are the fisherfolk, farmers and public market vendors, as well as students and ordinary residents, who show unparalleled enthusiasm to wait for me and then listen to what I have to say.”
“This being the case, I can only rely on the ordinary masses to help me lead the country to a better place especially since I am fighting political bigwigs,” said Moreno, who was born to a poor family in Tondo.
“I am banking on the help of the ordinary Filipinos who share my dream of finally realizing real, positive change for our future and the future of our children.”
According to Moreno, while on his ongoing listening tour, he was “simply overwhelmed and at a loss for words for the warmth of those I have met during my recent consultation meetings particularly with the grassroots, in the various provinces I have visited so far.”
“These are the fisherfolk, farmers, and public market vendors, as well as students and ordinary residents, who show unparalleled enthusiasm to wait for me and then listen to what I have to say,” said the mayor.
Among those who expressed excitement at the candidacy of Moreno was fisherman Roel Deliguin from Botolan, Zambales. One of the fishermen present during Moreno’s visit to the fishing town, Deliguin said in Filipino that he was so impressed with the proposed programs of the Manila mayor that “I am willing to contribute my whole income to his campaign.”
“This being the case, I can only rely on the ordinary masses to help me lead the country to a better place especially since I am fighting political bigwigs.”
Moreno in Botolan reiterated his proposal to cut taxes on petroleum products by 50% in order to improve the incomes of fisherfolk and farmers as well as help reduce food prices––a proposal welcomed by hard-up fishermen in the area.
Luis De Guzman, another fisherman, agreed: “gasoline is extremely expensive… we need to spend over a thousand pesos to fish; it’s a big deal for our families.”
Another fisherman present during the visit of Moreno was William Pacheco, who explained that “once the price for gasoline that will be used for fishing goes down, that will be a big factor in lowering the price of fish, a lot of people will be able to afford fish and we can sell our catch faster; this helps us and this helps consumers.”
