2022 PH presidential race

Isko projects presidential polish, calm under time pressure in KBP forum

Pia Ranada

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Isko projects presidential polish, calm under time pressure in KBP forum

LOOKING THE PART. Isko Moreno joins the KBP forum from a studio beside his Manila city hall office used for the livestreaming of his 'Capitol Report.'

KBP/YouTube screenshot

The Manila mayor looks the part in the presidential town hall. Here are hits and misses in his performance at the forum.
Isko projects presidential polish, calm under time pressure in KBP forum

MANILA, Philippines – Wearing a buttoned-up barong and sitting in front of the Manila City seal and blue curtains that uncannily resembled Malacañang’s press briefing room, Isko Moreno at the KBP presidential forum projected the man he wishes to be: president of the Philippines.

The polish manifested in another way: of the five candidates at the virtual forum, Moreno was one of the few who finished his answers before the one-minute buzzer sounded. His good time management spared him from the awkwardness and humiliation of being cut off by the moderator.

“The mayor is a stickler for following instructions,” Raymond Burgos, head of Moreno’s campaign communications team, told Rappler after the forum.

Burgos was one of the people who helped prep the mayor for the three-hour town hall. He said Moreno spent the night before “internalizing” his 10-point platform. From 7 am to 8:15 am, while having coffee, Moreno prepped with Burgos and campaign manager Lito Banayo on possible questions, Banayo told Rappler.

LOOKING THE PART. Isko Moreno joins the KBP forum from a studio beside his Manila City Hall office used for the livestreaming of his ‘Capitol Report.’

The “presidential-looking” setting of Moreno’s teleconferencing setup was the studio off his office in Manila city hall used by the mayor for his regular “Capitol Report.”

Moreno started the forum with a ho-hum recitation of highlights of his platform prepared by Banayo as a Powerpoint presentation made by Burgos was flashed onscreen. But then again, that portion was dreary for everyone.

How Moreno fared with policy questions

The energy picked up in the question-and-answer portion, where Moreno often gave his answers in structured bullet points and tended to switch from English to Filipino. He began with general concepts and motherhood statements that would capture the attention of regular Filipinos before delving into more detailed answers that experts or policy watchers might appreciate.

How will he fund his ambitious programs with the government’s P11-trillion debt? By efficient government spending, said Moreno, citing how he was able to pursue big infrastructure projects despite Manila’s budgetary challenges. He failed to mention, however, that most of his new buildings were funded through loans from the Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank. But Moreno has proven his capability in collecting taxes. Figures from city hall show tax revenues of the city increased yearly under his watch, even amid a pandemic.

But citing his Manila track record has its limits. For instance, his answer to TV5 anchor Roby Alampay’s question about how he would help the generation of Filipino children suffering from a lack of face-to-face education. Moreno merely said he would expand nationwide his Manila program of providing tablets and internet to students and teachers. He didn’t answer Alampay’s question.

Moreno managed to give concrete and clear answers to the other policy questions. He agrees to reclamation in general as a way to increase government income without further taxing citizens, as long as environmental regulations are followed.

He would legalize online cockfighting or e-sabong so that government can regulate the underground industry and generate funds from it.

He is against creating a Boracay Island Development Authority because it’s redundant and could take away tourism income currently going to local governments in the Visayas.

To address lack of communications during and after typhoons, he would tap low earth orbit satellite technology being pioneered by Elon Musk, with the help of Philippine firms.

He would prevent jail congestion brought about by the Duterte drug war by going to the “root” of the problem: drug supply. Specifically, he’d beef up Navy capabilities to stop smuggling of drugs in the seas.

Moreno is fond of hit-two-birds-with-one-stone ideas. Boosting the Navy also helps it deal with West Philippine Sea encroachment. Satellite technology improves access to education during a pandemic, aside from helping in disaster response.

Moreno and personal controversies

Moreno and his team prepared for questions about the West Philippine Sea and the International Criminal Court, but they didn’t expect his P50-million excess campaign funds to be brought up again, Burgos told Rappler.

The mayor responded as he did in several other interviews, to stress that the “most important thing” is he paid the proper tax, as instructed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

But when asked about the morality of his decision to keep millions of pesos as his personal income, Moreno said, “In the future, dapat magtatag tayo ng alituntunin na gabay para sa mga kandidato.” (In the future, we should put up guidelines so candidates know what to do with the funds.)

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[WATCH] In the Running: Panel discussion on the KBP presidential forum

[WATCH] In the Running: Panel discussion on the KBP presidential forum

Burgos said the campaign team would have wanted Moreno to stress that the excess funds were generated by his 2016 senatorial campaign, not his 2019 bid for Manila mayor.

Moreno sounded better fending off another personal issue question: his tendency to shift political allegiances and shift national political parties.

“What matters most at the end of the day is your loyalty to the people. As President Manuel L. Quezon said, ‘My loyalty to the party ends where my loyalty to the people begins’…. If that party member abuses their power or does not serve the people, why would you be loyal to them?” said Moreno.

‘Third force’ strategy

But perhaps the most telling remarks Moreno made were his last ones.

In his closing remarks, he did two things: propped up all the top presidential bets except Vice President Leni Robredo and ex-senator Bongbong Marcos, and packaged himself as the candidate who “can get things done.”

Ako po, mga kababayan, tulad ni Senator Manny Pacquiao at tsaka ni Ka Leody – kami po galing sa wala, nagsikap kami, nagtaguyod kami, pinagbuti namin ang aming trabaho. Salamat sa Diyos, nakaahon kami sa kinalalagyan namin. Ngayon, katulad din ni Senator Ping Lacson naniniwala ako sa kanya. Siya, on the ground noong panahon, lalo na noong linalabanan niya yung korupsyon,” said Moreno.

(I, my countrymen, like Senator Manny Pacquiao and Ka Leody – we came from nothing, worked hard, did well in our work. Thanks to God, we lifted ourselves from our situation. Like Senator Ping Lacson, I believe in him. He was on the ground especially when fighting corruption.)

His praise of Lacson sounded like a dig at Robredo who, in her Boy Abunda interview, said the senator was all talk but lacked “on-the-ground” work.

Pacquiao, De Guzman, and Lacson are non-administration bets who are behind Moreno in voter preference surveys. Like Moreno, Pacquiao and Lacson were the aspirants whom Robredo engaged with in “unification” talks that ultimately failed. Robredo and Marcos, meanwhile, are ahead of Moreno in surveys.

Moreno had previously criticized Robredo and Marcos in his interview with Boy Abunda. While saying good things about the other bets, he said Filipinos shouldn’t vote for Robredo or Marcos because they would only seek vengeance against the other if either of them are elected.

Rappler columnist and veteran journalist John Nery said Moreno’s statement shows he is “really doubling down on his third force strategy for elections.” He is appealing to a sector of voters who don’t like Marcos but are also turned off by Robredo and the “elitist” politics that both politicians might represent to them.

In promoting governance that “knows how to take action, “doesn’t analyze, analyze, paralyze,” Moreno seems to be copying Duterte’s “I will provide leadership” moment in the 2016 Cebu presidential debate.

Can squatter-to-mayor Isko embody that image of political will that won Duterte many voters? – Rappler.com

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Pia Ranada

Pia Ranada is Rappler’s Community Lead, in charge of linking our journalism with communities for impact.