Isko Moreno, celebrity mayor of Manila, to run for president of the Philippines
- The 46-year-old mayor is expected to bank on his rags-to-power life story, movie star looks and widely praised projects in Manila
- A child scavenger before becoming an actor then entering politics, Moreno is the latest aspirant in the race to succeed Rodrigo Duterte
While the 46-year-old mayor is expected to bank on his rags-to-power life story, movie star looks and widely praised projects in Manila, including cleaning up its filthy main roads and restoring order in its chaotic streets and public markets, Moreno will be up against formidable national politicians and celebrities.
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Duterte’s successor stands to inherit enormous problems led by the pandemic, a battered economy, long-entrenched poverty and decades-long communist and Muslim insurgencies.
“This is not about Mr and Mrs Congeniality. This is about making hard decisions and sacrifices,” Moreno said. From “a rotten and downtrodden city,” Manila re-emerged as a competitive and much-improved capital under him in less than two years “because of fast action and fast decision-making and not getting stuck by digging up past baggage and just moving on”, he said.
Moreno’s camp said he will formally declare his presidential bid later on Wednesday with his vice presidential running mate, Willie Ong, a cardiologist who provides medical advice to ordinary Filipinos on a Facebook account with more than 16 million followers.
