Former Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada downplayed the efforts being made by his successor Isko Moreno on cleaning Metro Manila from illegal vendors.
Estrada, in an interview with DZMM, said that he can also do what Mayor Moreno is currently doing in Manila. However, he’s also considering the welfare of the people that might lose their source of income because they’re operating their businesses in illegal places.
He also boasted his political background, to prove that he can also perform like current Mayor of Manila.
“Madali lang naman yung linisin mo lahat ‘yan. Pero kawawa naman yung ilang bibig, ilang bata… madaling magpasikat eh, madali yan. Isang utos ko lang, meron yan.” Estrada said.
“Ilang taon na ak naging Mayor sa San Juan, sa Maynila — naging President pa ako. Madali ‘yan i-utos pero titignan mo yung kapakanan ng mga kapwa tao mo lalo na ‘yung mahihirap,” he added.
In the interview, the former Manila Mayor also said that the claim of Moreno that an “organizer” presented him P5-M as a bribe to let illegal vendors in Divisoria operate is not true.
As of writing Moreno is not yet giving any response on Estrada’s statement.
Since Moreno became the Mayor of Manila, he quickly ordered the cleanup of major streets along his City including Divisoria.
However, several of his critics including the daughter of Erap, Jerika Ejercito, questioned the actions of Isko.
Like her father, Jerika also urged Isko to think about people who would be affected by his cleanup operations.
“A viral video showing Isko Moreno with a group of policemen conducting a “dialogue” with the vendors is yet to be weighed as truly democratic and humane since these are not the majority of the people affected but is just a captured number of vendors promised of relocation in other parts of Manila,” Jerika said.
“We recognize that the issue of bribery and corruption among barangay officials has to be addressed, but immediate displacement has never been a clear solution especially when opportunities for the poor to make money is close to none,” she added.