Erap not impressed with Mayor Isko's clean-up campaign of Manila, 'Madali lang magpasikat'

Former Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada photo from Manila Bulletin (ctto)

Manila, Philippines – Former Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada broke his silence on Mayor Isko’s performance as the new Mayor of Manila.

Erap said he is not impressed with Mayor Isko Moreno’s clean-up drive of the city so far. He feels sorry for the vendors displaced from their means of livelihood.

Moreno should not have removed the illegal vendors from the streets since these illegal vendors have no source of income to support their families’ needs.  Erap said

“Pag may makita tayong lugar na paglilipatan sa kanila. Ibig kong sabihin, dapat meron kang paglilipatan para kumita ‘yong mga tao

“Kawawa naman ‘yong mga taong nagugutom.

“Madaling magpasikat eh, madali iyan. Isang utos ko lang, meron ‘yan.

“Ilang taon na ako naging Mayor. Sa San Juan, sa Maynila, naging President pa ako. Madali ‘yan iutos pero titingnan mo ‘yong kapakanan ng mga kapwa tao mo lalo na ‘yung mahihirap,” Estrad’s statemnet, as quoted by the Manila Bulletin.

Recently, Jerika Ejercito, Estrada’s daughter, also criticized Moreno’s actions of the new Manila Mayor. The father and daughter shared the same sentiments regarding the issue. Jerika posted on her Facebook page here are some of the parts of her post:

"When informal workers are forced out of their livelihood due to beautification campaigns for urban spaces, we question how democratic the process has been for poor citizens who have elected a local government hoping it will give them better chances of surviving the harsh realities of everyday life.

"The clearing operations of vendors in Divisoria and other parts of Metro Manila sidewalks raise concerns on the welfare of these urban dwellers. 'Where shall they get their daily needs for their families?

"It is easy to laud the efforts of the newly-elected mayor all savvy with a PR team well-versed in projecting the “goodness” of the operations in social media, even using Facebook Live to get positive sentiments.

"We must be critical enough to see that this is the same logic that Rodrigo Duterte propagates.

"Has the tokhang mentality already been deeply ingrained in our consciousness? When we cannot kill the poor up front, we kill their livelihood instead to leave them hungry and decaying in a city only reserved for the affluent and privileged?"

"Or are they already criminals in our eyes when, like us, they have been leading honest lives through peddling what little they have to offer?

Mayor Isko Moreno is committed to his clean-up campaign of Manila as he promised to his constituents Manileños, that they deserve a better Manila.

Source: KAMI