Mayor Isko Moreno Speaks on Plans on West Philippine Sea
ISKO MORENO – The Manila City Mayor said that if he wins president, he is open to joint oil explorations with China in the West Philippine Sea.
Several incumbent politicians in the Philippines filed their Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for president in the 2022 Election. One of them is Manila Mayor Isko Moreno who is running under the Aksyon Demokratiko party.
Moreno is undeniably one of the names in the results of the surveys held to identify the possible presidential candidates in the next election. He hooked spotlight when he won as mayor of the capital city in 2019 defeating former Pres. Joseph “Erap” Estrada.
The Manila Mayor was cornered several times before by questions of a possible presidential bid. He maintained his stand that he focus is on the pandemic but assured that he is running in 2022.
With regards to the West Philippine Sea which is surrounded by issues as both the Philippines and China claim ownership, based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Mayor Isko Moreno is open to joint explorations with China on the disputed island if he wins president.
According to Mayor Isko, he wants to use the profits from any oil found to decrease the prices in electricity and strengthen the assets of the country. He expressed that he will protect the interest of the Filipinos.
The Manila City Mayor raised a question if PH has an engineering facility to dig oil. He is open to digging with the private sectors in PH and China. Based on the report, raising a hypothetical scenario, if the country can get 40% of the collected oil, he wants half of it to be sold to local oil players to decrease the electricity rates in the country.
With regards to the other half, Mayor Isko wants it sold to others to fund the boosting of the maritime vessels of the country. He stressed that he will sell oil and build the capabilities of the Navy.
“Kapag nagmura kuryente sa atin, magiging competetive tayo,” he said. He stressed that there are a lot of investors preferring Vietnam and Malaysia where electricity rates are cheaper.
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