Charles Teves
Presidential candidate Isko Moreno disagrees with a rival’s description of the indigent in the country.
Speaking to a group of calamansi farmers on March 11, he said politicians who refer to the poor as “laylayan ng lipunan” could possibly be too egocentric. The only candidate who usually uses the characterization is Vice President Leni Robredo. She first came up with it during her vice-presidential campaign in 2016.
“‘Yan yung pinapaliwanag ko sa taongbayan. ‘Yung gagawa ng mga salita. Ano ‘yung tawag sa ating mahihirap, laylayan ng lipunan? Hindi kami laylayan, mahirap po kami,” said Moreno, who hails from an unfortunate background before finding success in politics.
In his name belongs a mansion and millions of pesos.
“Kaya ang tawag ‘nyo sa amin laylayan kasi mababa yung tingin niyo sa amin. Alam ‘nyo kung bakit? Ganyan ‘nyo kami tingnan. Ibig sabihin mataas ang tingin ‘nyo sa sarili niyo,
“Ang normal na tawag sa isang naghihikahos na pamilya ay mahirap. Why change the words? To please the ears? Can we cure, maso-solusyonan ba natin ‘yung tao ‘pag tinawag mo silang laylayan ng lipunan?” he furthered.
People don’t buy Moreno’s self-proclaimed “man of the masses” title after he admitted to pocketing some P50 million of his campaign funds in 2016. Voters also didn’t like how he tried empathizing with the poor.
Excuse me @IskoMoreno Hindi ka na poor. Hindi ba binulsa mo yung P50m na di mo nagastos sa eleksyon noon? Mas mayaman ka kay @lenirobredo https://t.co/xlI9WlCWtZ
— Raissa Robles (@raissawriter) March 11, 2022
Lol stop acting poor. You ain't poor. You pocketed 50M in campaign funds. Stop. https://t.co/vu5DTAnbzY
— Droppenheimer (@AbielAnselmo) March 12, 2022
Moreno lost more respect when he initially called Robredo a “fake leader.” Also this week, he called Robredo out for allegedly campaigning inside a church, a claim having already been proven false.
Ang mga mahihirap na basurero ,marangal na tao yan.
Pero ang mga naging politikong basura… nakakawalang respeto yan. https://t.co/eoEgLpDkqi
— Teta Limcangco (@teta_limcangco) March 11, 2022
According to their SALNs, Moreno has way more money in the bank than the Naga native.
Bakit ka nakiki kami? Sa exclusive village ka nakatira. High end kotse mo. Binulsa mo ang excess 50M campaign donation. 70M mahigit ang net worth mo. Di ka mahirap. Hindi ka marginalized. Wala ka sa laylayan. Sit down. https://t.co/9YO0Aafz7y
— Tom (@MATom_MD) March 11, 2022
Apparently, Moreno didn’t comprehend properly what laylayan means.
Isko is either twisting words deliberately or is embarrassingly misinformed for someone of his stature. "Laylayan" means "at the margins"/"marginalized". "Laylayan" recognises the power relations that underpin poverty and ultimately a call to dismantle them. https://t.co/WhW7RPQLMR
— Dr. Pamela Cajilig 🍉 #NoNaturalDisasters (@anthropam) March 12, 2022
laylayan ng lipunan means "fringes of the society" di naman yan inimbento to downgrade.. yun talaga translation nya.. lol.. also you keep on calling yourself mahirap.. but you have a house in Ayala Alabang.. and your SALN is 7x higher than vp Leni.. https://t.co/7hxRna47mI
— #lans_2007 (@ynallim) March 12, 2022
He really doesn't get it. Puro papogi lang. https://t.co/GeM9KjuUvF
— z!p✨ (@usdi_tsisqua) March 12, 2022
If you think “laylayan” is such a derogatory word then maybe you are the elitist. 👽 https://t.co/I9cNYmySua
— brax (@superbraxstar) March 12, 2022
