Fully dressed and armed with vision, hard work and determination, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, whose office has just confirmed Sunday, August 15, that he tested positive for COVID-19, showed PeopleAsia his “dirty” past and why he was proud of it — in a number of PeopleAsia exclusives.
From a ‘dirty’ past to a brilliant future
A solo child, Isko was raised by his homemaker mother and stevedore father. By his own admission, he has seen it all, but he wasn’t jaded.
Indeed, it’s a far cry for a man who really knew how it was to go hungry, subsist on half-eaten and re-fried Chicken Joy retrieved from trash bins (pagpag as they call it) and live cheek by jowl in the slums of Del Pan, just outside Manila’s Port Area, with fellow informal settlers.
“Who would have thought this would be my life? That this would happen to me?” Isko Moreno also told PeopleAsia contributing editor Büm Tenorio, when he was named as the magazine’s “People’s Choice” Awardee in 2020. His disbelief is understandable. He came from nothing, he said in the same interview.
As Tenorio wrote, the dumpsite called Smokey Mountain was Isko’s Mount Olympus. Garbage was both gold and god. Things would change for the better for him when a talent scout spotted him in a wake in Manila. In 1992, the pedicab driver Isko became a mainstay of the German Moreno show called That’s Entertainment. The actor in Isko was crafted. It helped that he was blessed with good looks, expressive eyes and bushy eyebrows that defined his own brand in the cutthroat industry of show business.
Even then, Isko was a balance of hard work and appreciation. From his earnings, the aspiring actor opened his tapsilogan in Moriones, Tondo early in the ’90s and bought his first ever car, a malachite green Volkswagen, which he would test drive with friends (mostly those who helped him in showbiz) through a drive to Baguio City.
In 1998, while he was at the peak of his career in Tinseltown, he bade showbiz adieu and entered politics. He thought he could serve better if he were in public service. Despite being inexperienced, he gave his all in the campaign and won as first-time councilor of Manila.
The next president?
From the time he assumed office as the chief executive of the country’s capital, Isko, whose real name is Francisco Domagoso, has yet to put a halt to his desire to put order to “the city that has been neglected for two decades.” Since then, the mayor has succeeded in cleaning up areas like Divisoria and Carriedo, and more recently, has taken a more active role in fighting COVID-19 for his constituents.
At the height of being the supposed subject of cryptic criticisms from Malacañang, Isko presented a certificate of recognition issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government just two months ago, commending him and the city for its effective distribution of the government cash aid to constituents.
Indeed, Isko’s high profile as a public servant has earned him many a moniker. “Rock star” is one. His popularity is immeasurable, thanks in big part to his good governance amplified by social media. “I listen to netizens. I answer their private messages on FB; that’s the first thing I do when I wake up. The netizens are now part of the local government of Manila—in terms of policymaking,” he said.
“Will you be the next President of the Philippines?” PeopleAsia asked him last year.
“I don’t know. Ikaw naman. Ano ka ba? Manila lang ako,” he laughs.
A long and meaningful journey
In an interview with PeopleAsia features editor Alex Vergara, the former basurero– turned-actor-turned-mayor, one of this magazines 2019 Men Who Matter awardees, said that he’s “humbled” by the overwhelming mandate given him.
Reminiscing his moments on the campaign trail in 2019, the politician admitted to being touched by the outpouring of goodwill that came his way from people he had helped, especially with their children’s medical needs, during his two-decade career as a public servant. What really stood out to him was a little girl in Pandacan who came rushing toward him, embracing him and calling him ‘tito’—not Isko, take note, but uncle. “Tinawag niya akong tito kahit ’di naman kami magkamag-anak (she called me uncle even though we weren’t related),” he said.
The girl, it turned out, was a blue baby who nearly died, if not for the then-councilor’s timely intervention. “Now, she’s at the top of her class. When you think about it, sobrang nakakataba talaga ng puso (it’s really a heart-warming experience),” he said.
As of this writing, the mayor is on his way to the Sta. Ana Hospital in Manila, according to the Manila Public Information Office. A statement from his office also said that the mayor is experiencing cough, cold and body pains. Despite testing positive for COVID-19, he has assured his constituents that the operations of the local government will continue.— by Jose Paolo S. dela Cruz
(This story has been updated August 15, 9 p.m.)
