Mayor Isko Moreno didn’t stop from clearing the mess of his city and he even personally destroyed a barangay hall-turned barracks in Ongpin Street, Binondo, Manila on July 5.
Moreno who made his visit a surprise carried a sledgehammer to personally pound the Barangay hall which built beside the monument of Filipino-Chinese businessman Roman Ongpin who financed the Katipuneros during the Spanish Colonial rule.
Some staff of Moreno also helped in destroying the structure.
The said monument is one of the heritage sites that can be found in Manila.
“O ayaw niyo ng diplomasiya ha. Wala tayong makuha, nagdi-diplomasya tayo. Nanggagalang tayong puwesto,” Moreno said in the live video after Barangay 289, Zone 27 Chairman Nelson Ty denied that they owned the said structure.
“Nakakahiya naman kay Ongpin. Heritage natin ‘yan. That will remind us that you do good things, you will be immortalized,” he told the reporters.
He also towed several firetrucks owned by Filipino-Chinese Binondo Fire Prevention Association Incorporated beside the said barangay hall.
Moreno then proceeded to lecture Chairman Ty, telling the Filipino-Chinese politician to stop disrespecting the heritage site.
“Huwag niyong hayaan na babuyin ang mga heritage ng Maynila. ‘Yang mga istraktura ay pagbibigay ng paggalang at pagkilala sa mga taong noong unang panahon ay gumawa ng kabutihan,” Moreno told the barangay chairman.
Aside from cleaning Ongpin’s monument, Moreno also protected another heritage site by rejecting the 37-story commercial building being planned to build behind Quiapo Church.
The new Manila Mayor promised to clean his city and bring back the government to the people.