IF elected President, presidential candidate Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso said on Thursday that he will institute policies that would ensure workers get to keep their jobs, open more job opportunities for Filipino workers, and promote their welfare and that of their families.

Moreno made the pronouncements during a dialogue with workers and officials of Pampanga’s Best Inc. – a multi-million meat processing corporation located in Bgy. Dela Paz Norte, San Fernando, Pampanga that employs more than 1,300 workers.

The Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer said the effects of the pandemic is just like the calamity that befell the province of Pampanga when MT. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, but on a nationwide scale.

“Ngayong may pandemya, may pangamba ka na sa buhay, may pangamba ka pa sa kabuhayan,” Moreno said.

The uncertainty led to business closures and job losses, which are further aggravated by rising prices brought by weekly increase in the price of crude oil in the world market.

“Wala akong kontrol sa pagtaas sa langis sa mundo. Saan ko may kontrol bilang gobyerno, sa buwis. Last week, inilahad ko ang unang solusyon na naisip ko, na meron namang pinagbasehan, hindi kuwentong barbero lang. Sinabi ko ipagpaparaya ko yung gobyerno para naman sa maging kapakinabangan ng tao. I will cut by 50 percent of taxes ng langis at ng kuryente,” Moreno told the workers.

Besides immediate savings for the poor, the ordinary workers and the middle class, cutting taxes on oil products and electricity would also prevent manufacturers from shutting down, thus letting their employees keep their jobs and their livelihood.

Added to this, businessmen will be lured to invest more and provide more jobs to Filipinos. “Ang mahalaga ngayon ay negosyo, negosyo, negosyo dahil nakapagbibigay ito ng trababo, trabaho, trabaho,” Moreno said.

“Pag may trabaho may chicha ang pamilya niyo. Makakatawid tayo sa pandemya. Kasi ang hinahabol ko lang naman, mairaos ko kayo, maitawid ko kayo at huwag ng bumalik yung panahon na pumutok ang Pinatubo kung saan namamalimos ang mga tao sa highway dahil walang trabaho, walang hanapbuhay, walang makain. Ibinaba ang dignidad ng tao ng pandemyang inabot ng Pampanga noon na ganun din ang nagyayari halos ngayon,” Moreno said.

To further stimulate job generation, Moreno also bared a plan to rehabilitate thousands of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) that were forced to close down and lay off millions of workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If elected, Moreno would encourage local government units (LGU) to use the additional income they would get due to the Mandanas ruling for the sustenance of jobs and businesses like what he did in Manila through “creative financial engineering.”

“Sa Maynila, isinalya ko yung 10 years na additional kita sa Mandanas ruling para sa build, build, build: build more housing, more hospitals, more modern public schools and many others that provided more jobs during the pandemic. Umikot ang komersyo, maraming nagkatrabaho,” he said.

Moreno also granted a general tax amnesty that kept small businesses afloat, and reopened a lot of closed businesses.

“We will adopt the same creative financial engineering na ginawa namin sa Maynila kung saan bibigyan namin ng direksyon yung mga LGU kung paano nila ia-adopt yung ekstrang pera na galing sa Mandanas ruling para ipautang sa mga MSMEs ng ating bansa, ng ating local na pamahalaan ng sa ganun may negosyo, may trabaho, murang koryente, murang tubig, murang pangunahing bilihin, murang krudo,” explained Moreno.

“Nangyari sa Maynila, pwedeng mangyari sa buong bansa,” he said.

But national and local leaders should be decisive in bringing the nation to the direction that it would take, according to Moreno.

“A leader should decide, tell us in what direction that where and when we are going. Sa ngayon, gusto ko lang gumawa ng tulay ng hindi malunod ang tao sa ilog, at makatawid siya sa tulay. Yun muna ang balakin ko sa ngayon – maibsan ang buhay ng tao, ibalik ang dignidad sa pamumuhay ng bawat Filipino,” Moreno said.