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Photograph by George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

CULTURE SPOTLIGHT

The humble beginnings and great ambition of Isko Moreno

The man who unseated Erap began as a pag-pag collector in Tondo, a young boy who dreamed only of
becoming a seaman—but that was before show biz, politics, and bigger dreams took over

Bam Abellon | May 15 2019

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Before midnight struck Tuesday, a day after the Philippine Midterm Elections, Joseph “Erap” Ejercito
Estrada had conceded defeat. His former running mate and former Vice Mayor Francisco Moreno
Domagoso, more popularly known as Isko Moreno, won the mayoralty race in Manila. It was not an easy
campaign season for the much younger Isko who went against the former movie star, patriarch of a
political family, former president and even a former mentor. But this is Isko Moreno, and nothing in his
life ever came easy.

Baby Francisco "Isko" Domagoso.

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Born October 24, 1974, Isko grew up in the slums of Tondo, Manila, along Mabuhay Street, near the long
coastal road. His father, Joaquin was a stevedore, while his mother, Rosario took care of the needs of the
family. “At 10 years old na-realize ko na na mahirap kami,” Isko told the current affairs program Pipol in
2012. “Kasi wala kaming Atari, wala kaming Game & Watch, yung kapitbahay namin may Betamax na.” It
was not an easy life, and his father didn’t always have a job. “Sa araw araw na ginawa ng Diyos, mamimili
ka lang: yung mamatay na dilat ang mata o mamatay na may hepa.” Hence, the young Isko needed to
hustle. To put food on the table, he would collect pagpag, or discarded food. Sometimes they would sell
pagpag to their neighbors for extra income.

As he grew older, he learned how to make more money by selling old newspapers and used bottles. But
this hustle came with danger. His comrades in the streets were often high on rugby, and work often led
to brawls, something Isko said he tried to avoid as much as he could. Any kind of trouble might push him
away from his family’s dream: for Isko to finish high school.

This young boy from Tondo was also called Scott. Because his father did not always have a job, he
needed to help with the family income.

His father only made it to grade four but his son would be different. College was out of the question, of
course, given that the family could barely pay for the 120-peso fee for his almost-free education. “That is
near to impossible,” he told Pipol about getting a degree.

There was a time his classmates would make fun of him in school for being a garbage collector—there
was a time when Manila Mayor Mel Lopez had a clean and green campaign in the city and Isko, being a
real trash collector, was teased by his classmates. “Mayor! Mayor!” they would call him. Still, the young
dreamer could not be deterred. “Naiiyak lang minsan,” he remembered. Back then, in his mind, he would
go beyond high school. He wanted to become a seaman. Eventually, he dreamed he would be the
captain of a ship.

But fate had other plans.

That’s entertainment

In January of 1993, Moreno was at a neighbor’s wake when a talent manager and producer, Wowie
Roxas, gave him an opportunity to be in front of a camera. He didn’t know what that entailed but as
someone who had been through more frightening perils, this sounded like an easy kind of unfamiliar.

His first acting gig—if you could call it that—was for the RPN 9 teen drama anthology, Young Love, Sweet
Love (1987 -1993). It was hosted by German “Kuya Germs” Moreno, show biz veteran, an entertainment
impresario. In that episode, the newbie Moreno had one job: ring the doorbell.

A young showbiz hopeful.

The call time for the shoot was at 9 a.m. They shot his scene at around 7 hours later. But the long wait—
in an air-conditioned room, with free food, doing nothing—was, for Moreno, pure bliss. He got 1,500 for
the stint. “Aba, okay ’to!” he told himself when he got his first paycheck— which he would spend on a
pair of briefs and food for his family.

Eventually, the boy’s charm and good looks would take him beyond the role of the doorbell guy. He was
soon asked to audition for the seventh batch of hosts in the hugely popular variety show, That’s
Entertainment. He got in, and with that success came his unrelenting rise to fame. He made movie after
movie, enjoying the stream of income that he gained from his projects. But since it’s in his nature to
always be on the lookout for self-improvement—or just something new to do—he stepped out of the
show biz world to take a different route.

Councilor Isko

Isko first entered politics by running for councilor in 1998. It was a decision done on a whim, he
admitted. He was just feeling lucky that year. He approached then Vice Mayor Lito Atienza, and found
himself a slot in the race. He also found himself in the middle of campaign trash-talking, something he
didn’t think would hurt him hard. The boy from Tondo was lambasted for having only finished high
school. People called him, “artista lang.” Never one to raise a white flag, he used the weapons of his
detractors against them. He was an artista, yes. He was “just” a high school graduate, yes. But he was
also from the people. “Walang sino man ang makakapagsabi dito na alam nila ang pakiramdam niyo
kapag kumakalam ang sikmura ninyo,” he told his audiences during the campaign. “Ako alam ko ’yon.”

He won that election. He was 23 years old. He served as councilor of Manila for three terms.

Manila Vice Mayor Isko Domagoso speaks during the presentation of candidates of Team Galing at Puso
at Club Filipino on October 29, 2015. Photograph by Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

While he was councilor, he went back to school. He wanted to learn. He wanted to fight back and prove
his detractors wrong. He, too, belonged in public service. He belonged in politics. Then he heard that his
fellow artista-turned-politician mayor Vilma Santos (current leading bet in the congressional race for the
sixth district of Batangas City) attended a few courses at the University of the Philippines (UP) to help her
with her new role. This inspired Isko to follow suit. He headed to UP and inquired about the institution’s
special programs on legislation. With the financial support of former Manila Vice Mayor Danny Lacuna,
Moreno was able to take the program and finish it.

But he didn’t stop there. Moreno enrolled in leadership and governance courses at the John F. Kennedy
School of Government in Harvard University, and at the Said Business School of the University of Oxford.

Photograph by Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

With this kind of education in his arsenal, Isko went on to become Manila’s Vice Mayor—first under
Alfredo Lim, then under Erap Estrada— for three consecutive terms. He ran for senator in the 2016
National Elections but lost.

In the Pipol interview, host Ces Drilon asked him if he dreams of becoming president one day. “Gusto ko
pong maging president. Kung paano po makararating do’n hindi ko alam,” he very positively said, without
any hesitation. “But I will take it one day at a time. If I’m gonna be the mayor of the city of Manila
someday—I don’t know when—I’m gonna be the president of this country.”