BY WENDELL VIGILIA, RAYMOND AFRICA and ASHZEL HACHERO
OPPOSITION presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo said she is running for president because she has what it takes to inspire confidence in every Filipino and unite them as they face the country’s problems.
Fellow presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said he will use his years of experience in public service to solve the country’s problems.
Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao said his years serving in the legislative branch of government will help him solve the country’s problems, as he assured the public of a corruption-free government if he wins the presidency in the May 9 elections.
For Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, his desire to serve inspired him to seek the presidency.
The four presidential aspirants made the statements during interviews with veteran TV journalist Jessica Soho, aired Saturday on GMA-7 and livestreamed on online platforms.
Notably absent was former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who declined to participate, with his camp saying the host was biased against him, a charge GMA Network Inc strongly denied.
The pre-recorded interviews, which ran for three hours, set social media ablaze. There was some harsh criticism of Marcos, with thousands on Twitter using the hashtag marcosduwag (marcoscoward), while praising other candidates and the host.
All four aspirants tried to differentiate their policies from those of President Duterte, from handling the narcotics problem to tackling a maritime dispute with Beijing.
They said they would not support the reimposition of the death penalty or the legalization of same-sex marriage, but they were divided on divorce — a touchy issue in Asia’s most Catholic country.
‘ABILITY TO INSPIRE’
Robredo, who chose to run as an independent candidate despite being a member of the Liberal Party, said a good leader has to inspire Filipinos to help each other and be part of the solution, something which she said she has already achieved during her vice presidency.
The former Camarines Sur representative said the Office of the Vice President has done a lot of good things “because we have inspired confidence and people have been inspired to do their share to contribute to nation-building and that’s what we believe that we can contribute if I become president.”
Robredo vowed to make job creation her priority, saying the COVID pandemic has caused unimaginable hardship to the people as many businesses were forced to close down.
“No. 1, trabaho. ‘Yung number one talaga trabaho dahil sa pandemic ay ang daming naghirap, ang daming nagsara. ‘Yun talaga ‘yung tututukan natin (No. 1, jobs. Job creation is really No. 1 because many people were impoverished and businesses had to close because of the pandemic. That’s what we’ll focus on),” he said.
Next in her list of priorities is addressing what she called the “systemic ills” in the country’s public health system “by ensuring access to medical care, health care, to make it available to the poor.”
She also said declaring an education crisis should have been done even before the pandemic because the country as has been at the tail end of international international assessments.
TRACK RECORD
Lacson said he would not like his “experience, competence, and track record” to go to waste as it is best if these will be used to solve the country’s “humongous problems.”
“Kasi alam ko base sa aking experience, sa executive at sa legislative, marami na ako nagawa at ito na ng huling hurrah ko sa serbisyo. Ayoko sana magpatuloy pero nakita ko ang napakalaking problema ng bansa. Sa akin, tinitignan ko ang presidency as a sacrifice.
Kasi nakapagsilbi na ako, nagawa ko na iyong mga dapat kong gawin, iyon ang aking satisfaction sa buhay at matino naman ang pagse-serbisyo ko (Because I know that based on my experience in the executive and legislative, I have done so much and this is may last hurrah in public service. I really don’t want to serve anymore but I have seen the country’s humungous problems. I look at the presidency as a sacrifice. I have already served the public well. I have done what I have to do and that satisfies me. And I have served well),” Lacson said.
Lacson said he has been doing what the other presidential aspirants are just now promising voters.
Should he win, Lacson said, his administration will focus on three priorities — budget reforms, digitalization of government processes, and ending corruption.
Pacquiao, also a presidential aspirant, said his years serving in the legislative branch of government will be of help in solving the country’s problems, as he assured that his administration will be corruption-free.
“Kailangan lang malinis na gobyerno, walang korapsiyon, may magandang plano para sa ating bansa para makapagbigay ng trabaho sa ating mga kababayan (We need a clean government that is free of corruption, which has concrete plans for our country so we can give jobs to the people),” Pacquiao said.
He assured the public that if he wins as president, corrupt government people will be put behind bars.
Once a clean government has been achieved, Pacquiao said, he will focus on strengthening the economy.
“Para sa ganoon trabaho na ang maghahanap sa tao, hindi ang tao ang naghahanap ng trabaho (So that the time will come that jobs will always be available, and not let the people find jobs),” he added.
‘CALLING’
Moreno said aside from his desire to serve, he also felt some “sort of calling” to seek the highest position in the land.
He said poverty and other difficulties he encountered early in life also made him ready to face the challenges not only as a mayor of the country’s capital city but also the presidency.
Moreno though conceded the challenges facing the country’s next president are definitely greater.
Moreno dispelled concerns he is also “tradpol” or traditional politician. He said his loyalty remains with the Filipino people even as his critics noted the many times he changed political party.
Moreno left the National Unity Party before the start of the filing of certificate of candidacy last year and joined Aksyon Demokratiko, the party founded by the late Sen. Raul Roco. Previously, he was with the Nacionalista Party, United Nationalist Alliance and Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino.
Moreno also said that while he looked to the vision of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, particularly in infrastructure development, the country should never forget the human rights violation and atrocities committed during martial law.
“May paninindigan ako, kinokopya ko yung magaling. May pabahay si Marcos, ginaya ko.
Pero pinagbuti natin, mas ginandahan natin. Imprastraktura, edukasyon, and so on and so forth – kinokopya natin yung mabuti, pinupuri natin yung mabuti, yung maganda ginagaya, dinadala sa kasalukuyan para sa kinabukasan (I have a position which is I copy the good.
There was a program for housing during the Marcos era. I imitated that but we made it better. We also improved on the areas of infrastructure, education, among others. As I have said, we copy the good, we praise the good and imitate it, and bring it into the present for the future),” he said.
“But yung mali hindi natin kakalimutan (We will not forget his wrongdoings), “ he added.
Aside from not forgetting the violation and crimes, he said a Moreno presidency will also make sure that those who committed crimes and corruption will be made to answer for their crimes.
Marcos, 64, the only son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., said he will communicate his message through other shows, platforms and forums.
Political analysts credit Marcos’ active social media presence for his strong showing in polls, but some suggested it might not be enough.
“Should the Marcos camp continue to shun these kinds of nationwide events, it is possible, if not highly probable, that…the second preferred candidates can pick up some numbers,” said Richard Heydarian, an author, columnist and academic who specializes in politics.
In the Philippines, personality politics dominates platforms.
Twitter has suspended hundreds of accounts that were promoting Marcos, citing violation of rules on spam and manipulation.
‘RIGHT DECISION’
Robredo said while it took her a long time to reach discernment, said she made the right decision to run for President.
“Mahaba ‘yung journey pero (the journey was long) I think I made the right decision,” Robredo told Soho
Before she finally declared her presidential bid last October 7, Robredo had tried to unite the opposition to ensure that only one candidate will represent their ranks in the May polls.
Robredo admitted that she was “frustrated” when the talks with other candidates fell through, saying it would be more difficult to unite the opposition as everyone is already “invested” in their respective bids.
Robredo, however, said that even if she failed to unite the presidential contenders, she was “successful in uniting so many groups,” including non-politicians who are now helping in her campaign.
While she still ranks second to her Marcos Jr., Robredo remains confident that her numbers will improve as the campaign period is set to begin next month.
While Marcos has the strongest political machinery, unlimited resources, political might, Robredo said the passion, commitment and dedication of her many volunteers can spell the difference.
Asked if she decided on a presidential run only to challenge the dictator’s son, Robredo said it was not her “primary motivation (but) that is one of the factors that helped me decide to run.”
Robredo said one of the reasons that she was now a candidate was because she honored her commitment to 1Sambayan, a coalition of pro-democracy groups, that she would run for President if they chose her following their selection process that included several other leaders. — With Reuters
