Gen X Filipinos can remember Isko Moreno‘s showbiz career. However, the former actor has gone far from his previous image. He’s now the mayor of the City of Manila and even a presidential candidate for the 2022 Philippine elections.
If you’re curious about his political experience or acting stints, here’s a list of things to know about Isko Moreno – from his experiences scavenging as a kid to his showbiz career to his political achievements.
Moreno as a young boy
Image credit: Isko Moreno Domagoso
As a 10-year old, Moreno collected pagpag – leftover food from the trash – for his mother to recook for their meals.
He did this in the afternoon when he collected trash to sell at junk shops to help his stevedore (person who loads and unloads ship cargo) father earn a living for their family. In the morning, Moreno attended school.
When he was in high school, Moreno also worked as a pedicab (a type of cycle rickshaw) driver.
Moreno in high school
Image credit: Karen Davila
In 1993, at age 18, Moreno was scouted to become a celebrity when he attended a wake in Tondo to get free food.
“If the dead is rich, may sopas at sandwich, kaya dinadayo namin,” Moreno shared in an interview with entertainment writer Ricky Lo. (“If the dead is rich, [their family would serve] soup and sandwich [at the wake], so we would go.”)
His good looks made him stand out in the crowd and he was spotted by talent scout Daddie Wowie Roxas.
In his interview with Karen Davila posted on the news anchor’s YouTube channel, he implied that earning money in showbiz was easy for him.
“You get paid to wait. Call time mo alas nuebe, makukuhanan ka alas tres ng hapon, but you get paid for the day. O diba simpleng trabaho yun,” he said. (“You get paid to wait. Your call time could be at 9AM, and your scene would be at 3PM, but you get paid for the day. Isn’t that an simple job?”)
He won’t be the first actor to become a Philippine president if he wins. Former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada also has a similar background.
Moreno with leading lady Claudine Barretto
Image credit: Yorme Isko Moreno Supporter
Isko Moreno isn’t Moreno’s real name. His real name is Frascisco Moreno Domagoso. Before showbiz, he also used the nickname Scott.
He began to use the screen name Isko Moreno during his first showbiz gig – the variety show That’s Entertainment hosted by German Moreno, or Kuya Germs.
During his 4-year showbiz career, he became actress Claudine Barretto’s leading man in the film Muntik Na Kitang Minahal. He also starred in several soft porn movies.
Finally, he started his political career in 1998, but still occasionally appeared in TV dramas.
Moreno attending a program at the Harvard Kennedy School
Image credit: Filipino Immigrants for Isko Moreno
When he became Manila councilor in 1998, he was looked down upon for lacking a college education and being an actor. This is because, coming from a poor family, Moreno didn’t have the money to go to college.
To keep up with other politicians, Moreno went back to school. In 2003, he got a degree in Business Administration from the International Academy of Management and Economics in Makati.
He then took public policy courses at the University of the Philippines, as well as law units at Arellano University. He also attended programs at Harvard University and the University of Oxford.
In his interview with Karen Davila, Moreno said that he has a love for personal development, saying, “Why deprive yourself of [an] opportunity to learn? There’s so much time in this world.”
Moreno delivering a speech during the anniversary of the liberation of Manila from the Spanish
Image credit: Isko Moreno Domagoso
Moreno will be attempting the jump from being a city mayor to the leader of an entire country, just like current President Rodrigo Duterte was mayor of Davao City before being elected as president.
However, Moreno has also been in politics for nearly 24 years.
After working as councilor from 1998 to 2007, he became vice-mayor of Manila for two terms, from 2007 to 2016.
Moreno lost the senatorial race in 2016, but was appointed by President Duterte as Chairman of the Board and CEO of the North Luzon Railways Corporation (NorthRail) in 2017. However, he only stayed in the post for three months, resigning for “personal reasons”.
In 2018, he was appointed as Undersecretary for Luzon Affairs and Special Concerns at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), but he resigned after five months to run for Manila mayor.
An exterior shot of the Bagong Ospital ng Maynila
Image credit: Isko Moreno Domagoso
Among Moreno’s most popular projects as Manila mayor were the renovation of the Manila Zoo and the Lagusnilad Underpass.
The Basecommunity, an affordable townhouse-style housing project at the Baseco Compound, was also built during Moreno’s term as mayor. In July 2021, the units were handed over to 229 families displaced by a fire in early 2020.
Another infrastructure project, the P2.3-billion Bagong Ospital ng Maynila, is set to be completed this year. Moreno said that his constituents can expect it to look like the private Makati Medical Hospital.
Besides these, Moreno also has several vertical housing projects for low-income families, including two Tondominiums (a portmanteau of Tondo and condominium), and three 10-story school buildings on the works.
Video credit: Rappler
While Moreno built infrastructure after infrastructure in his term as Manila mayor, critics have also called his policies “anti-poor”.
This includes the time he cleared streets and passageways in Manila to solve the city’s congestion problem. This displaced vendors at the Lagusnilad underpass and Divisoria, among many others, with vague relocation plans.
After Moreno repeatedly used his “laki sa hirap” (born in poverty) narrative during his recent presidential interviews, netizens reminded other voters not to fall for it, accusing the presidential candidate of being anti-poor. Consequently, a video of a Quiapo vendor begging him not to confiscate his goods from 2020 resurfaced.
One of Manila’s 24/7 drive-thru vaccination sites
Image credit: Isko Moreno Domagoso
For his Manila constituents, Moreno built 16 quarantine facilities, two swab laboratories, and a field hospital in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. There’s also a dedicated area for Covid-19 patients who are in need of dialysis.
According to the mayor, he doesn’t mind spending hundreds of millions to create a hospital space for Covid patients.
To prevent the spread of the virus, he also set up several 24/7 booster shot drive-thru sites in the city, aside from the regular vaccination sites.
However, some may argue that these are only part of his job as a mayor during the pandemic.
Hardworking, determined, and teeming with ideas for infrastructure projects, Isko Moreno is an admirable politician.
However, there is doubt on whether he could be a good president for all Filipinos, as choosing him as president could potentially be at the expense of our lower-income countrymen’s sources of living.
Look out for our upcoming profiles of other 2022 Philippine presidential candidates!
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Cover image adapted from: Isko Moreno Domagoso and Isko Moreno Domagoso
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