Presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno took a swipe at his rival, presidential front-runner Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. for skipping the debate hosted by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
During his campaign sortie in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, Moreno said Filipinos cannot eat "unity," a common word used by Marcos' camp as their platform.
"Maganda ang pagkakaisa. I do believe in pagkakaisa. Pero ang salitang pagkakaisa, hindi makakaresolba ng gutom ng tao," Moreno said.
[Unity is good, I do believe in unity. But the word “unity” could not resolve the hunger of people.]
"Kapag wala nang masasaing ang tao, hindi mo kayang isaing ang pagkakaisa. ‘Pag wala nang ulam ang tao hindi mo maiuulam ang pagkakaisa," he added.
[When the people have nothing to cook, you can’t cook unity. When the people have no more viands to eat, you can’t turn unity into a viand.]
He also slammed candidates who skip debates and interviews, saying if he would be a voter, he would not vote for them.
"Kapag hindi humarap ang aplikante, hindi ko iboboto, bilang botante," Moreno said.
[If an applicant does not show up, I will not vote for him.]
"Puwede mo lang ba basahin ‘yung papel, hindi mo ba siya tatanungin, totoo ba itong sinasabi mo na ito skills mo? Kung ako botante, hindi kita iboboto. Tapos pagka may mga kaso ka pa tapos napatunayan may sala ka, kailangan patunayan mo, nagbagong buhay ka na ba?" he continued.
[Will you just read their resume, you won’t ask, is it true that these are your skills? If I’m the voter, I won’t vote for you. Then if you have cases and you were proven guilty, you need to prove, have you changed?]
