MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Don鈥檛 be bitter, Manila Mayor Francisco 鈥淚sko Moreno鈥� Domagoso told the camp of Joseph Estrada on Thursday after a former city administrator said the P5 million bribe reportedly offered to the mayor was unbelievable.
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鈥淭igilan na natin ang ampalaya. Mapait yan paminsan-minsan, pero maganda yan sa kalusugan ah (Let鈥檚 leave the ampalaya alone. It鈥檚 bitter once in a while, but good for the health),鈥� Moreno said, apparently alluding to the alleged bitterness of the Estrada camp over their loss in the May polls.
Moreno won the Manila mayoralty race with a landslide victory, trouncing the former President.
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The newly elected mayor said that it should be Estrada himself who should be answering issues, not a representative.
Nevertheless, he said that it is better to let the public know the truth about the P5 million bribe offer.
鈥淭ingnan natin kung sino ang totoo dito, sino ang hindi. Kapag naipakita ko ba, anong mangyayare? Wala. Bakit? E kasi wala na sila sa pamahalaan eh. Yan ang hirap eh (Let鈥檚 see who is telling the truth here. If I show proof, will something happen? No, why? Because they don鈥檛 have a government anymore?),鈥� Moreno said.
In a radio interview, former Manila city hall administrator Ericson Alcovendaz said the bribe that Moreno exposed early this week is unbelievable and that he may have just been taken for a ride.
He explained that vendors pay a hawker鈥檚 fee of P20 per day, which goes to the city budget. Thus, making Moreno鈥檚 claim of a P5-million daily bribe hard to believe.
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The bribe was allegedly for the Moreno administration to abandon its campaign against illegal vendors around Manila.
Since Moreno assumed office last Monday, Divisoria has been cleared of illegal vendors and street hawkers.
He said that if illegal vendors return to the area, that means he has accepted the hefty bribe offered to him. (Editor: Eden Estopace)
READ: Filthy, chaotic Divisoria would mean I鈥檝e been bribed, says Isko Moreno