Dionne Monsanto, a Pinoy Big Brother alumna, said on Wednesday, November 3, that she opts to vote for the incumbent Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte over Anakalusugan Representative Mike Defensor as the city’s leader.
On her twitter account, Monsanto pointed that Belmonte is better than Defensor, who helped shut down ABS-CBN in 2020.
The 35-year-old actress noted that she was not siding with anyone as she stressed that she had been previously “critical” about Belmonte.
However, if she is to choose between the two aspiring mayors of QC, she will vote Belmonte.
https://twitter.com/dionnemonsanto/status/1455817988830023686?s=21
Apart from aiding the closure of the largest network in the Philippines, Defensor also pushed for Ivermectin, as a drug to prevent parasites in animals, in lieu of COVID-19 vaccines.
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Ivermectin has not been authorized to be used “in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals.”
It is only allowed for treatment when it comes to “infections caused by some parasitic worms and head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.”
Defensor, being the vice-chairperson of the children’s welfare panel, also has authored 119 bills.
In September, he accused Belmonte of purchasing overpriced food packs for beneficiaries, a claim that the QC mayor denied.
Mayor Joy Belmonte still with a colossal lead over ABSCBN franchise murderer Mike Defensor. pic.twitter.com/iTeCUN0wYK
— DeusExMachina (@DeusXMachina14) November 3, 2021
Meanwhile, the incumbent QC mayor has accomplished many things despite the challenges she faced like how the city lagged in terms of vaccination rate.
In 2019, Belmonte was able to effectively deal with the emergence of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the city.
The disease was known to be deadly and crippled the livestock industry. However, she swiftly resolved the issue.
When the first wave of COVID-19 hit the Philippines in 2020, Belmonte was the first local government official to declare a state of calamity before enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was placed in Luzon and in other parts of the country. As a result, the city’s 142 barangays were able to immediately address the needs of its citizens through their Quick Response Fund.
Aside from her decisive actions, Belmonte accumulated almost P7 billion which she allotted for food packs, cash aids, and other forms of assistance under QC’s COVID Response program.
