MANILA Congressman Rolan Valeriano (2nd district) is challenging ex-mayor Isko Moreno to a lie detector test, in reaction to a video shown to him where the former mayor accused him and Rep. Joel Chua (3rd district) of treating him badly.
In the said video, Moreno claimed that he, along with former Councilor Letlet Zarcal, met with the two Congressmen and there, the two allegedly told him in raised voices that they would rather give the mayoral post to another candidate, just not him.
Valeriano and Chua both maintained that no such incident happened during the said meeting, adding that they parted ways amicably and even continued addressing Moreno as ‘boss’.
Upon learning that Moreno had come out with a different version of the meeting, Valeriano said he texted Zarcal asking how he feels about Moreno fabricating such a story in his presence.
“Ano nasa isip mo pare pag nagsisinungaling kaharap mo kc kasama ka diyan pero kung siraan kami….maayos tayo naghuwalay nung gabing un..,” Valeriano told Zarcal who, he said, is yet to reply to his text.
Valeriano and Chua are two of five Congressmen in Manila who stuck it out with Mayor Honey Lacuna. There are only six Congressmen in the city.
Valeriano said this is the only possible reason why Moreno is trying to demonize them in the eyes of the public.
For their part, the two Congressmen have vocally expressed belief that Lacuna can better lead the city in the years to come, citing how Moreno plunged Manila into a P17.8 billion debt and left the city for his presidential ambition when he decided to run for President in 2022 despite having two more terms left for mayor.
They also resented Moreno’s solo decision to run for mayor, saying everyone who treated him as family, both personally and politically, were kept in the dark as to his plans to run against Lacuna, whom they said did nothing wrong to him, continued and even enhanced all his projects and retained all his appointees.
