FILE PHOTO: Manila Mayor Francisco 鈥淚sko Moreno鈥� Domagoso. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Manila Mayor Isko Moreno again disputed claims that he is a communist candidate, saying that he actually even subscribes to having equal opportunities and even lessening the government鈥檚 restrictions on businesses.
Speaking during the聽Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Tuesday, Moreno said that his beliefs were much more leaning towards the free-market economic models and may go against the core concepts of communism.
In fact, Moreno said,聽he prefers a democratic system of government.
鈥淪traightforward, I am no communist. I do not believe in communism, I believe in democracy. I believe in certainty, I believe in equal opportunity. I believe na ikaw, kapag nagsikap ka, pwede mong gastusin, pwede mong pakinabangan ang lahat ng, (that you, if you persevere, you can spend your money, you can reap all) the fruits of your labor, you have the right to enjoy it,鈥� he said.
鈥淎ng komersyo ay pantay-pantay. In fact, ayaw ko鈥檔g masyadong, too much control ang gobyerno sa komersyo.聽 And that doesn鈥檛 apply with communism.聽 So ako one flag, one country,鈥� he added.
(Commerce should be equal. In fact, I do not want too much government control of commerce.聽 And that doesn鈥檛 apply to communism.聽 So for me, it鈥檚 one flag, one country.)
Despite this, he said that the government must still tend to Filipinos with opposing political beliefs as they are still citizens of the country.
According to Moreno, the government must still try to convince communist rebels to return to the fold, to achieve peace that will usher progress.
鈥淲hile at the same manner, remember, mamamayan mo rin itong mga ito, baka naligaw ito ng landas.聽 鈥楧i ba dapat ikinukumbinse mo ito, hindi mo sila ine-alienate? Whether they disagree with you, or agree with you, you must govern and there is only one government 鈥� Philippine government,鈥� he explained.
(While in the same manner, remember, they are your people too, maybe they lost track of where they should go.聽 Isn鈥檛 it that they should be convinced, and not alienated?)
鈥淚 don鈥檛 like terrorists, I condemn terrorism. I don鈥檛 believe in communism, I believe in equal opportunity [鈥 We deserve peace, peace is a very expensive and hard to find, but we must seek for it because peace brings us better things,鈥� he added.
Moreno was accused of being a communist candidate after old photos of him with Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder and exiled communist leader Jose Maria Sison surfaced on social media.
Then, in October 2020, then military Southern Luzon command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade asked if Moreno was welcoming CPP and New People鈥檚 Army rebels in Manila after the mayor put down tarpaulins stating that the rebels are persona-non-grata in the city.
Moreno reasoned back then that they would not want to spread hate during a time of a global pandemic.
Regarding the photo with Sison, Moreno said that he met the communist leader because he was part of the government鈥檚 panel on the peace talks, as an observer.
However, he claimed that political operators cropped other individuals in the photo, including pro-military delegates.
He said it is similar to his photo with former senator Bongbong Marcos, which was taken out of context because he was only there to facilitate a civil wedding in which the late dictator鈥檚 son was a sponsor.
鈥淢ay picture, it鈥檚 a peace talk eh, did you know that I was part of the peace talks and I am grateful for the experience because at least nakakita ako ng malaking problema (I got the chance to witness a big problem) which is insurgency, kaya nagka-ganoon for some different ideology, and I witnessed it,鈥� Moreno said.
鈥淜atulad ng picture namin ni Bongbong Marcos sa isang restaurant na ako ang nagkasal [鈥 Ninong si Bongbong Marcos pero ang ginawa nila ni-crop nila 鈥榶ong picture. Pinapalabas no鈥檔g mga operators na kaya 鈥榶an ganyan, kasi Bongbong Marcos 鈥榶an.聽 So the same picture in the peace talk, kina-crop 鈥榶ong picture, [鈥 Pero hindi nila pinapakita ando鈥檔 鈥榶ong mga military,鈥� he added.
(Like my photo with Bongbong Marcos in a restaurant where I wedded a couple.聽 He was the sponsor but what people did was to crop the photo, and operators made it appear that I am acting like this because I am with Bongbong Marcos.聽 So the same picture in the peace talks, they cropped it.聽 But they did not show the military officials present.)
Moreno is running for president in the 2022 national elections, squaring up against Marcos, Vice President Leni Robredo, labor leader Leody de Guzman, and Senators Manny Pacquiao, Panfilo Lacson, and Ronald dela Rosa.
Moreno is banking on a platform of quick action, especially regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.