MANILA— Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Wednesday declared his bid for presidency in 2022, recalling his rise from poverty while touting his achievements as the capital's chief executive over the last three years.

Here are some of the notable statements the Manila Mayor made in his candidacy launch in Tondo.

• On COVID-19 pandemic response

“Manila has the foresight to build its own medicine Cabinet… We did not place our entire fate on the hands of a few Cabinet members.”

“We have used our people as guinea pigs in the useless experiment of unli-quarantines… Instead of flattening our curve, we have flattened our economy… Maiintindihan sana natin kung walang pondo ang DOH. Pero ang pera para sa COVID-19 binuro.”

• On being poor

“I learned not from [the] school of public administration but in [the] slums of Tondo. Discrimination, I have experienced early in life, not a theory learned later in school. Hindi lang pagkain ang kinakalkal mo. Namamalimos ka rin ng respeto… If you are born in the wrong side of the city, at the bottom of society, you cannot escape profiling for life.”

“Lumaki akong busabos pero hindi ako naging bastos. Bagama't balot ako ng dumi sa katawan, ni minsan hindi ko kailangan sabunin ang aking bibig… Ni minsan hindi ako nagtampo sa Diyos. Hindi ko siya minura at ang kaniyang mga alagad, hindi ko inalipusta.”

“I don't belong to a large clan. I am neither son nor daughter of a president. Hindi ninyo makikita sa pera ang mukha ng aking mga walang perang ninuno. No avenues named after them, kahit nga eskinita o waiting shed wala silang pangalan."

"Lone ranger po ang apelyido ko sa gobyerno… Hard work and straight talk whether it is about city projects or personal beliefs, I say it with candor and I do not play coy. Real talk lang po lagi.”

• On his values as a leader

“I believe people should speak truth to power rather than threatening the people for speaking the truth.”

"A leader must not only think outside the box, he must also choose people outside his circle.”

“When assaulted with lies, the truth, not the trolls, will set you free.”

• On his policies should he win the 2022 presidential elections

“Competence not connection will be the sole guide in making appointments… to those with skills, no recommendation is necessary.”

“I will be energizing millennials to join the government so that they can put their talent in the service of government."

“Kapag may tao akong pumalpak, pumalya, you are fired immediately. Kung ano mang anomalya, hindi ko kukunsintihin… kapag kinubli at hindi tinama, bayan ang papasan ng perwisyong ito.”

“I will be a healing President. While ours will be a government of national reconstruction, it will also be a government of national reconciliation. Hindi ko isisisi sa nakaraan ang problemang ating kakaharapin.”