Erap: It’s more ‘pan’ in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - While the Department of Tourism (DOT) claims it is more fun in the Philippines, former President Joseph Estrada said yesterday that the country’s capital is suffering from a host of problems, all ending in “pan.”

 â€œThe slogan of the DOT to attract foreign tourists is ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines.’ Here in Manila, there are also a lot of ‘pan’ – kidnap-pan, holdup-pan, carnap-pan and lastly kahirap-pan. That is what is happening and we need to rise and restore the city’s former glory,” said Estrada, referring to kidnappings, robberies, car thefts and poverty.

Estrada, who is running for Manila mayor, said the city has reportedly taken the title of “car theft capital” from Quezon City.

He said some economics professors at the University of the Philippines conducted some studies that reportedly showed that Manila has one of the largest percentage of poor residents.

Manila was also ranked 36th out of 38 highly urbanized cities in the country, according to a study done by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Estrada vowed to restore the glory days of Manila. He said one way of boosting the tourism potential of Manila is to restore peace and order. “There would be no economic growth without peace and order… We would restore the historical landmark of Manila to attract tourists,” he said.

Estrada also believes that the Manila Police District has deteriorated from “Manila’s Finest” to become “Manila’s Worst” because some of its members are involved in extortion and other illegal activities.

He believes that giving the policemen their due wages and their allowances would convince them to shape up.

Estrada said he would like to win the mayoral race by a landslide, “so that if some people are thinking of cheating, it would be difficult for them to cheat and they would no longer have to question my victory.”