Mayor of Philippine capital to seek presidency

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno declared his bid in a speech at a public school in the slum area near where he grew up. (AP)

• Manila Mayor Isko Moreno was a child scavenger before becoming an actor then entering politics
• He said he was pushed to run not by high ambition but by the sorry state of the country

MANILA: The popular mayor of the Philippine capital said Wednesday he will run for president in next year’s elections, the latest aspirant in what is expected to be a crowded race to succeed the controversial Rodrigo Duterte.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, a child scavenger before becoming an actor then entering politics, said ahead of his public announcement that he would fight still-raging coronavirus outbreaks and long-entrenched poverty and promote democracy if he triumphs in the May 9 elections. He declared his bid in a speech at a public school in the slum area near where he grew up. With him was his vice presidential running mate, Willie Ong, a cardiologist who provides medical advice to ordinary Filipinos on a Facebook account with more than 16 million followers.
“In all humility, I announce to you my countrymen, this coming May please accept my application as president of the Philippines,” he said to the applause of his supporters.
He said he was pushed to run not by high ambition but by the sorry state of the country, as he criticized the Duterte administration’s pandemic response, including the lack of life-saving medicines to combat COVID-19.
““I have pulled myself out of the gutter with no Daddy Warbucks helping me along,” he said, adding that he believes in hard work and straight talk.
Of the poor, he said: “You give them red carpet treatment, not red tape.”
While the 46-year-old mayor is expected to bank on his rags-to-power life story, movie star looks and widely praised projects in Manila, including cleaning up its filthy main roads and restoring order in its chaotic streets and public markets, Moreno will be up against formidable national politicians and celebrities.
Two senators have declared their intent to run — international boxing star Manny Pacquiao and Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief. At least seven other politicians have said they were considering either a presidential run or lower posts, including Vice President Leni Robredo, who leads the opposition; Duterte’s daughter, who is the mayor of their southern hometown city, and a son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Duterte’s successor stands to inherit enormous problems led by the pandemic, a battered economy, long-entrenched poverty and decades-long communist and Muslim insurgencies.
“This is not about Mr. and Mrs. Congeniality. This is about making hard decisions and sacrifices,” Moreno said. From “a rotten and downtrodden city,” Manila reemerged as a competitive and much-improved capital under him in less than two years “because of fast action and fast decision-making and not getting stuck by digging up past baggage and just moving on,” he said.
Moreno said he picked a doctor instead of a political heavyweight as his running mate so his vice president could focus on the pandemic while he leads efforts for an economic rebound if they win.
“It’s politically unorthodox, but it makes sense,” said Moreno.