INSTEAD of “hakot” crowds, Manila Mayor and Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso yesterday said his team will stick to their strategy of reaching out to the electorate to explain their platform of governance and to know the real situation of ordinary Filipinos, especially in far-flung areas of the country.
Moreno said his confidence is buoyed by the enthusiastic crowds that greeted his recent provincial campaign sorties.
“Basta ako ang strategy ko hindi magbabago. Kung ang iba dinadala ang tao sa kanya, sa amin kami mismo ang pupunta sa mga tao (My strategy will remain the same. If others bring people to their sorties, our team will go directly to the people),” Moreno told reporters a day after a huge crowd attended his grand rally in Cagayan de Oro City.
“Diretso tayo sa mga tao, tayo ang pupunta sa kanila (We will go directly to the people, we will go to them instead of the other way around),” he added.
Moreno said he was overwhelmed by the show of support of the people in Cagayan de Oro City who attended the rally Sunday night despite a heavy downpour.
“It was the first time in my 24 years of public service that I witnessed such love from the crowd who never left despite the heavy rains,’ he said.
Prior to going to Cagayan de Oro, Moreno’s team also embarked on a series of motorcades and town hall meetings in the municipalities of Medina and Balingasag in Misamis Oriental, as well as in Gingoog City.
He also met with Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano and Gingoog City Mayor Erick Canosa, Medina Mayor Donato Chan and Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno.
The Cagayan de Oro mayor earlier announced his support to the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo.
Last Friday, Moreno’s team said 60, 000 people attended their rally in Lipa City while another 30, 000 supposedly greeted him in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
The 47-year-old Manila mayor said that going directly to the people has the added benefit of affording him and his running mate, Willie Ong, as well the three Aksyon Demokratiko senatorial candidates — Samira Gutoc, Carl Balita and Jopet Sison, as well as guest candidate John Castriciones — the chance to know first-hand the needs of the ordinary people.
Moreno said he needs all the support he and his team could get considering that his presidential rivals have the resources and connections to support their campaign.
“Kailangan ko ng tulong ng lahat. Mahirap at mabigat ang laban na ito lalo na outsider along maituturing (I will need all the help that I can get. This is a difficult fight, especially since I am an outsider),’ he said.
Meanwhile, Moreno said he met with representatives of Elon Musk’s Starlink SpaceX company to discuss the deployment of the latter’s low orbiter satellite to provide “fast and accessible” internet services for the use of the Manila City Hall and its satellite offices, public elementary and secondary schools, hospitals, and police stations and connect the city’s barangays.
Moreno said the plan is to acquire over 1,000 dishes to connect all 896 barangays of the city, 104 public elementary and secondary schools, two universities (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and Universidad de Manila), seven hospitals, 15 police stations, including the headquarters of the Manila Police District, as well as the city hall and its satellite offices.
Moreno met with Rebecca Hunter, SpaceX senior manager for government affairs, and Raymond Garcia, the company’s partner representative to the Philippines and other Asian countries.
The city mayor said the low orbiter satellite will initially provide 110 megabits per second (MBPS), upgradable eventually to as much as 500mbps.
The next plan, according to the mayor, is to connect the University Belt area to the service to enable students to have access to “fast, accessible and free” internet connection.
The City Council of Manila has passed a resolution authorizing Moreno to negotiate with Musk’s company for the use of the Starlink low-orbit satellite for the city government, public schools, hospitals and police stations.
