YEARENDER: Erap bounces back as Manila mayor

MANILA, Philippines - The year 2013 showed Joseph Estrada, the country’s 13th President who was deposed by a People Power uprising, returning to power as mayor of Manila.

His two sons, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joseph Victor Ejercito, reportedly opposed his decision to seek the mayoralty post in Manila, but the elder Estrada prevailed.

The contention of Estrada’s sons was that he no longer had anything to prove given his track record and long service to the Filipino people.

President Aquino defeated Estrada in the presidential elections in 2010.

In his campaign for mayor last May against Aquino ally and re-electionist mayor Alfredo Lim, Estrada said the mayoralty post would be his last run for elective office.

He also assured Vice Mayor Isko Moreno that he would serve as mayor of Manila for one term.

Estrada said that he decided to run again to return the favor given to him by the Filipino masses that have supported him all the way, making him a movie superstar, San Juan mayor, senator, vice president and President, until he was ousted from Malacañang for corruption in his administration.

He said he ran for Manila mayor to save the city from “decay” owing to the mismanagement of former mayor Lim.

Many experts viewed Estrada’s victory in the May 2013 mayoralty election as his chance to vindicate himself.

But now that he is in his coveted post, Estrada realized that he inherited a bankrupt city government from his predecessor.

Estrada said the city government owed the Maynilad Water Services, Inc., P613.6 million and the Manila Electric Co. some P57.7 million that accumulated during the Lim administration.

Aside from this, Estrada said the city government has a budget deficit of P3.5 billion, a financial situation that virtually tied his hands to use funds for new projects. 

On his first day in office, Estrada started cleaning the Manila Police District (MPD), which he said had ceased to be “Manila’s Finest.”

“Even the Manila policemen were not spared by my predecessor. He did not release the allowances of the police and the contributions of the city hall employees to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) were not remitted during my predecessor’s term,” Estrada said.

“The situation is worse than when I became President,” Estrada added.

He has asked Maynilad and Meralco to give him more time to pay the city government’s debts.

“I am confident that we can pay it within a year. Right now, I am ensuring that every single centavo in taxes and other forms of income to be generated by the city government will directly go to the city coffers,” Estrada said.

“This is the biggest challenge in my life. I did not face this during my presidency. This is my last hurrah,” Estrada said.

As part of the city government’s efforts to raise revenues, 97 real estate properties worth P103.5 million owned by delinquent taxpayers were set for auction on Nov. 26.

Another problem, which needs prompt action from the city government, is the indiscriminate dumping of garbage that clogs waterways in Metro Manila and causes floods.

Estrada had led the inauguration of the redeveloped Estero de Santibañez in Paco, Manila.

He said that 30 percent of some 8,700 tons of garbage generated daily by Metro Manilans goes to “canals, creeks and rivers,” since only 70 percent of tha garbage is collected.

The uncollected garbage ends up in Pasig River before it goes to the sea and settles in Manila Bay, Estrada said. 

Estrada said cleaning all the esteros in Manila is in line with his vision to bring back the glory of Manila.

During his 100 days as Manila Mayor, Estrada said the MPD carried out 161 police operations against all forms of illegal gambling which resulted to the arrest of 209 persons.

Estrada said that after 15 years, the MPD is again a reliable group ready to help and secure the people from criminality.

In another controversial move, Estrada declared that he would personally apologize to Chinese and Hong Kong authorities for the bungled police operations that resulted in the death of eight Hong Kong tourists and a dismissed policeman who held hostage the passengers of a tourist bus at the Rizal Park in 2010.

“I am inviting the Chinese and Hong Kong nationals to have their vacation in Manila. I assure them that they will be safe here. The (2010 hostage drama) will not happen again while I am the mayor of Manila,” Estrada said.

Estrada said the apology to China and Hong Kong is necessary to avoid the repercussion to the economy of Manila and the entire country.

He said the city government would also launch programs that would attract tourists from Taiwan, Hong Kong and other parts of Mainland China.

Manila, under Estrada, was the first city in the country to install free Wi-Fi terminals in commuter waiting sheds.

Estrada also signed Ordinance No. 8323 creating the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office aimed at making the city more prepared for disasters.

And to create a better livelihood opportunity for vendors in Manila, Estrada introduced the so-called night markets to allow street hawkers to operate from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on selected streets in the city.