Mayor Isko Moreno was happy to receive praise from President Rodrigo Duterte who said that the leader of Manila City is more skillful than him when it comes to managing his people.
In a media interview on Tuesday, President Duterte said that he watched how Moreno spoke to his people and find a solution in the problem of his city.
“Bilib ako sa kanya. Kaya nanonood ako ‘pag nagsasalita siya. Mas mahusay siya kaysa sakin, sa totoo lang.” said Duterte.
“May nakita akong mas mahusay ang resolve niya kaysa akin. Plus two ako sa kanya,” he added.
As a response, Moreno made a lengthy statement to thank the President, saying that the latter was the one who inspired him to become a hands-on Mayor.
You can read his whole statement below:
“Thank you for the kind words Mr. President but to be really honest, isa po kayo sa mga naging inspirasyon ko sa kung ano mang klase ng liderato na meron kami.
Naalala ko po nung lage akong nagagawi sa Davao nung araw. Di naman po lingid sa kaalaman ng karamihan, lalong lalo na yung mga taga Maynila na ako po ay naninigarilyo. Pero pag nasa Davao City po ako, takot na takot po akong manigarilyo dahil alam kung huhulihin ako.
In fact there was one time, galing po kami ng Tagum pabalik ng Davao City. Medyo dis oras na ng gabi pero biglang bumagal po ang takbo ng sasakyan namin so tinanong namin yung driver kung bakit. Simple lang yung sagot nya. “Kasi po nasa Davao City na tayo. Kahit gabi ho dito, may pulis man o wala, sumusunod po kami sa batas trapiko.”
So I think kung ano man ang nakikita nating pagpupursige ng mga alkalde sa buong Pilipinas, hindi lang po ako, ay reflection lamang ng klase ng liderato at Pangulo na meron tayo.
As I always say, it’s not the severity of punishment itself but the certainty of getting caught that deters a person from breaking the law.
So we owe it to you, Mr. President, for inspiring us and for becoming a good example to all of us.”
Moreno was appointed by President Duterte as Chairman of the Board of the North Luzon Railways Corporation (NorthRail) in 2017 and Undersecretary of Social Welfare and Development for Luzon Affairs in 2018 before running as Mayor of Manila City.
Many netizens compared Moreno to Duterte because of being strict when it comes to implementing the law of Manila City.