Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso scolded again the group involved in vandalism as he failed to remove a spray-painted graffiti near the Bonifacio Shrine on Monday morning despite several attempts.
After Monday’s flag raising ceremony, Isko scrubbed a graffiti using a rag and a thinner on a telecom box to remove “the art” but to no avail.
“Tingnan ninyo gaano kahirap. Ito ang gusto niyong pagka-abalahan namin? Imbes na kung paano kayo bibigyan ng bahay, paano namin kayo bibigyan ng trabaho, paano namin kayo bibigyan ng gamot?,” Moreno asked.
“Masaya kayo? Ikinalulugod ninyo ito? Ito art?” he added, referring to the cultural youth organization Panday Sining which claimed responsibility over the recent vandalism at the Lagusnilad Underpass.
Moreno said that he would have to send some five workers just to remove the graffiti on the telecom box.
“Ngayon, kung ipapadala ko limang tao, papaswelduhin ng gobyerno, pera ng tao [ang gagamitin],” he said.
“Natatanggal ba? Hindi! Anong gagawin? Pipinturahan? Gastos na naman,” he added.
He said that instead of allotting money for other purposes including medicines and other constructions materials, he would have to spend it to pay the workers and to buy paints.
“Pinangbili ko ng pintura, makakabili ng gamot. So, dito ko na dadalhin?” he asked.
“Yung may sakit? Papainom ko na sa kanya ‘yung art nyo? [‘Yung] ipapambili ko ng pako, semento para maitayo ang bahay, ipapambubura ko lang nito?” he added.
Last week, Panday Sining justified the vandalism at Lagusnilad Underpass, calling it a “protest art”.
“The purpose of our protest art isn’t to spite the citizens of Manila but to sound the alarm against these injustices,” the group explained in a statement.
But Moreno said that the “poor” that the group is “fighting” for is the same “poor who benefit from the public hospitals and from the housing projects of the local government.”
“‘Di ba pinaglalaban niyo mahirap? Sino gumagamit ng pampublikong ospital, ‘di ba mahirap? Sino ang makikinabang sa pabahay, ‘di ba mahirap?” he asked.
Moreno stressed that there are many other ways to protest against the government, except for vandalism “which is not right.” (Joseph Pedrajas)
