Isko Moreno Defended Himself on the Divisoria Public Market Sale

Isko Moreno Defended Himself on the Divisoria Public Market Sale. He says that it was meant to raise funds for the city’s pandemic response.

The Divisoria Public Market was sold to Festina Holdings Inc. for P1.45 billion.

According to the report, the Manila City Council presided over by Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna issued two resolutions in 2020 authorizing Moreno to approve the sale and conduct public bidding on the 3,700 square-meter property.

The City Hall had stood by the sale of the public market to generate funds through real estate tax on land properties.

Isko Moreno said that it was not him who entered into an onerous contract on the public market. He didn’t give out names but he mentioned that late Manila Mayor whose offspring is running for the top city hall post against outgoing Manila Vice Mayor Lacuna.

The late Manila Mayor Mel Lopez’s son is among the contenders for the Manila top post.

During the time of Lopez and late Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Festina Holdings rented the public market according to the report.

Moreno said,” As much as possible, I would like to respect the dead. But data will show that it was his father who did it, who exposed the city government in a very gravely disadvantageous situation.”

He added,”History and data will judge me. I’m just happy I was able to build public housing communities and hospitals and provide medicine and equipment. People are more important at this time of crisis.”

During the inauguration of the second tower of the city’s vertical housing project “Tondominium”, Moreno said that the proceeds from the public market sale went to fund the city’s horizontal public housing project in Port Area “Basecommunity” and to buy equipment and medicine for city hall’s pandemic response.

He also implied that he was being attacked over this issue because of his demand for the Marcos heirs to pay their P203.8-billion estate tax debt.

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