Moreno lambasts 'personal' Marcos vs Pinklawan feud, cites poverty as real enemy

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 27) – Presidential candidate Mayor Isko Moreno has described the feud between the Marcos family camp and the so-called Pinklawan as "a personal thing" hindering the country's growth, saying the real enemy is poverty.

This is the narrative that the Aksyon Demokratiko bet intoned in an interview with CNN Philippines senior anchor and correspondent Pinky Webb.

“It’s very clear na yung away na ito (that this feud), it’s a personal thing. It has nothing to do with your work, company, life, or your children’s future,” Moreno said.

Moreno lamented that the longstanding feud between the two political factions has polarized the nation.

“My obligation being a candidate, at the same time as the citizen of this country, is to remind you that there is a smokescreen in front of you. That’s why you cannot see the full view of our future. Ang nangingibabaw ngayon ay (What's prevailing now is) Marcos at yellow,” he expressed.

The conflict he said also affected in a negative way the country’s progress and which led to him offering himself as an alternative presidential choice come the May 9 polls.

“A good sum of people in our country is being deprived of such opportunity or such minimum requirements para magkaroon sila ng (so they can have) growth or ease in their lives,” he said.

Isko on Marcoses: They want to rebuild their reputation

Moreno said the “red” camp, alluding to the side of pre-election survey frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., is focused on redeeming the former first family's reputation and paying back to the “yellows.”

The yellow color has long been associated to the Aquino family, whose matriarch Corazon led the ouster of Marcos’ father Ferdinand Sr. in a bloodless revolution in 1986 which ended the latter’s 21-year dictatorship in the country.

“Marcos wants to revive or rebuild their reputation. But karapatan niya yun bilang tao na buhayin muli ang kanilang dignidad (it is his right as a person to restore their dignity),” noted Moreno.

He also criticized Marcos for allegedly paying individuals to attend his campaign rallies – a claim that has since been denied by the former senator’s camp.

“The ‘reds’ are also doing it. We saw so many videos that they are paying people and naka-truck or bus,” Moreno said.

Isko to Leni, ‘Pinklawan’: They want payback vs. Marcoses

Meanwhile, during the interview, Moreno mentioned “Pinklawan” a few times to refer to the camp of Vice President Leni Robredo – who is identified with the yellow-clad Liberal Party before using pink as her campaign color for the 2022 polls.

“Kaya ako nagtataka bakit siya nag-pink, eh siya ang chairman ng dilaw (I’m confused why she chose pink, she’s the chairman of the yellows). It confuses me also within their group, I think they confuse each other,” Moreno argued.

The Manila Mayor explained that the “yellowpink” side has the intention of going after the Marcoses, if they get to run the government in June.

“Sa mga Aquino naman, itong mga dilaw pati sila Robredo, basta sila ay ayaw namin sa Marcos. Ang sa akin kasi, ang tunay nating kalaban ay kahirapan ng tao,” Moreno said.

[Translation: To the Aquinos, to the “yellows” including Robredo, they really just don’t like the Marcoses. But as for me, our real enemy is poverty.]

Moreno also took a strike on Robredo’s campaign strategies, particularly her group’s frequent posts of drone shots of her campaign rallies.

“Part of strategy especially ng mga political elite is to demoralize your followers, just to project and create an impression na marami kami. Magdo-drone shot, marami kami (that we are many. We should take a drone shot, so we can show that we are many),” he said.

Moreno led several pre-election surveys on second choice for presidential bets among the 10 individuals vying for the country’s highest post.