Presidential aspirant and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Thursday, Dec. 16, said he is running for the highest position in the country because of his love for the ordinary people.

In his interaction with traders and transport sector members at the CMA market in Antipolo City, Domagoso said he wants to change the system of governance in the country to uplift the lives of the poor people and to stop the rule of elites.

“Hindi tayo pinagpala. Hindi katulad ng ibang mga tumatakbo, anak ng presidente, ginto-ginto dito, gintong kutsara ang (nasa) bibig, kaya hindi maintindihan ang buhay natin (We are not blessed. Unlike the rest of the contenders, a son of the president, gold-gold here, born literally with the golden spoon on his mouth, so they have no understanding of how we live,” said Domagoso, who was a scavenger.

“Ang totoong buhay ng tao ay kayo. Ang buhay ng tao ang totoong buhay ng Pilipinas (The real meaning of life is you. The people's lives are the backbone of the Philippines),” he said.

Domagoso previously said he is running for president to offer what he had done in Manila that are duplicable and scalable such as the construction of more public housing, public hospitals, public-school buildings, and to create more job opportunities, to the rest of the country.

He had earlier said he would continue the Duterte administration's Build Build Build program.

Domagoso also warned the public against politicians who are prone to making false promises.

“Mag-ingat kayo mga kababayan. Ngayon lima-singko ang pangakuhan. Di niyo ba naririnig? Magmumura raw ang bigas, huwag kayo magpapaniwala na magiging P12 uli ang bigas. Hindi totoo yun na ibabalik daw nila yung panahon nila. Hindi totoo yun, nakalipas na yun (Beware my countrymen. Promises are now just worth one centavo. They said the price of rice will go down. Don't believe that rice will be P12 again. It is not true that they can bring back the country to what it used to be. That's not true. It's all in the past).