Mayor Isko Moreno on overcoming poverty & fears, changing mindsets, reaching for dreams

A former poor boy from the slums of Tondo in Manila, a garbage scavenger and pedicab driver, an actor, the reformist and workaholic mayor who has cleaned up the once-chaotic capital city, 47-year-old Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso is now fighting the biggest battle of his life as presidential candidate. Amidst his frenetic schedules, Yorme granted this writer an exclusive one-hour interview at his office in City Hall. Here are excerpts:

PHILIPPINE STAR: How do you maintain your energy and youthful looks despite your hectic schedule and lack of sleep? What are your health secrets?

MAYOR ISKO MORENO: Wala (None), I just take vitamins, Dr. Vicki Belo gives me vitamins — vitamin C, E, etc. every two weeks. Another reason, I get inspired when I go to the streets, to far-flung areas, highly-urbanized cities. People warmly welcome us, they give us hope and energy. The people are our inspiration. I’ve already visited about 20 provinces, and I gain energy from the people.

Why are you close to Dr. Belo? You were her celebrity endorser?

Yes, I became her endorser. When Cotabato was hit by an earthquake, I wanted to send assistance. She was at that time getting me as her endorser. I requested for her to just donate my endorsement fee to the earthquake victims. No more fees, I requested her to donate to Cotabato quake victims. I did that also for Taal Volcano victims, also for Philippine General Hospital (PGH), where I raised P30-plus million.

Are the rumors true that President Duterte might possibly endorse you?

I need a lot of help, uphill ang laban ko, dahil yung mga kalaban ko, puro mga pedigree, ako ‘yung askal, pero naniniwala ako, matigas man ang bulalo, lalambot din ito (my battle is uphill, because my rivals are pedigreed, I’m the stray mixed-breed, indigenous dog, but I believe, no matter how tough the beef in the stew is, it will eventually soften). My rivals have big groups, while I’m an outsider. I shall persevere. I have to reach as many people as possible, to share my aspirations, vision and plans for our country. I need the support of everyone. I have to do a lot of work to convince voters, so if President Duterte will help, thank you very much. With all honesty, I need all kinds of help.

Is it true Senator Grace Poe was supposed to run as your vice president, and she’s your ally?

No, she didn’t want to run. We’re close, her late father Fernando Poe, Jr. was my wedding godfather. I got to know him through showbiz. FPJ was a very good person, he’s very respectful whether you’re a small player or a big player. I went with him when he ran for president, I was with him all the way, up to the very end. When Sen. Grace Poe ran for president, I was also with her up to the very end. I never abandoned Grace, I also never abandoned ninong (godfather) Ronnie, up to the very end, because my reasoning is this: Daga lang ang tumatalon sa lumulubog na barko (Only rats jump out of a sinking ship).

What’s the truth about your critics accusing you of secretly changing your vice presidential candidate from Dr. Willie Ong to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio?

Isko Doc Willie ako, period (I am for Isko Doc Willie, period). Doc Willie is a good and decent person. He has malasakit (genuine concern for others). Those rumors are unfair to Doc Willie.

Last year and this year you mentioned the Marcos and Aquino families’ political conflict of past decades. Can you elaborate on this?

Yes, if you’re already tired of that, I am available as your option. We had already given them opportunities to make our lives better, they probably did some good things, they probably also had shortcomings; now my question, how is your life now? If you feel you still have the same problems as before, as in years ago, problems which keep on coming back, if you want real change, then I am available as your option. Albert Einstein once said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Maiba naman (Try a change).

In former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s new book, she wrote that then Mayor Erap and you had visited her during her detention at Veterans Memorial Medical Center?

Yes, I visited her I think three or four times. Yeah, why not? Misery loves company. As a matter of gratitude, no presidency is perfect. As a matter of respect to her, I visited her several times to express gratitude for her service to the country. I wanted to convey to her that she is not alone in this world. Past is past, let us learn from the successes and mistakes of people in the past, in order to be guided in the future.

When you were young in the slums of Tondo, Manila, did you ever imagine yourself running for president?

No, never, basurero ka lang eh (you were just a garbage scavenger). My big dream in my youth was to someday be captain of a ship, to work as a seaman. You know, in the 1980s, if you were poor like me in the squatter area, to become rich, girls dreamt of going to work in Japan, while boys dreamt of going to work in Saudi (Arabia) or becoming a seaman. But you know, ang tadhana, mapaglaro eh (destiny, it is so playfully unpredictable). I know, who could ever imagine, as a poor street kid of just 9 or 10 years old, I was just watching presidents make speeches, uhugin lang ako, what are the chances, what is the probability that I would become a presidential contender?

There are many poor who live in squatter communities and they also dream. How did you become different?

I believe I am no different from others. It started maybe when I was age 10, just a poor ordinary kid in Tondo. I went to school and tried to earn a living as a basurero, para kumita ng pera (garbage scavenger, in order to earn money). My daily schedule was: morning eskuwela, hapon, basura (mornings school, afternoons, garbage), every single day. Then in high school, I went to class from morning up to 2 o’clock, then afterwards I’d work as a sidecar boy, just to earn money. It was difficult. You try to achieve things. Simple lang, para lang makaraos sa buhay, para may makain (It was simple, I worked to survive, to earn for food).

Do you still remember how many rented homes you’ve stayed in and moved out of?

Yes, I can’t forget. There was the place in Tahimik Street, then Lualhati Street, Tagumpay Street, Sandico Street, Kagitingan Street, then Tuazon Street, then Santo Niño Street, Moriones, then Mabuhay… We just kept on moving and moving, because every time we couldn’t pay the rent, we were being driven out. When we eventually lived in the squatter area of Mabuhay, it was free rental. (Laughs)

Tondo district used to have a legendary gangster called Asiong Salonga, whose life was made into four movies. Had you heard about him in your youth there?

He was in the Moriones, Pavia Street area of Tondo… No, Asiong Salonga was in the 1940s and 1950s, I was born much later, in 1974. (Laughs)

Tondo is an historic place of heroes and poets. Who do you admire?

Macario Sakay, Andres Bonifacio.

How old were you when you were discovered for showbiz, what was your work then?

I was 18, working as sidecar boy. I was also studying to be a seaman, first semester. I was discovered in 1993. I stopped my studies, because I had wanted to be rich and I thought I’d already become rich through showbiz. Focus on my new work was important, because I really wanted to excel.

You were discovered at a wake? Whose wake?

Aling Nita, auntie of Daddy Wowie, who discovered me. He gave me a calling card, so I tried and went to Cubao, it turned out to be true. He introduced me to Kuya Germs (German Moreno) of That’s Entertainment TV show on GMA 7.

Ronald Reagan was an actor too, before becoming California governor and then US president. Are you inspired by people like him?

Yes, I am inspired by people like Reagan, also Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine who started out as a comedian. Look at him now, he’s on the frontline. Reagan inspired a lot of people during challenging times. In fact, it was under his leadership that the Berlin Wall was torn down.

Who are the leaders you admire the most?

Lee Kuan Yew, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln.

What was the most difficult part of your youth?

I had to scavenge the garbage and bring home leftover food. It’s called “pagpag,” usually leftovers from Jollibee fastfood. At least, even when I was poor, every day I was eating Chickenjoy (laughs heartily).

We had nothing to eat. Magdidildil ka ng asin (You sprinkle it with salt). It’s like an everyday thing, hunger, our lack of food when we were poor. That’s why when we learned how to scavenge pagpag, our only remaining problem was rice.

Did your parents live to see you become successful?

Yes, both my parents. My late mother saw me win as Manila Mayor. My father wasn’t able to witness me win as city councilor, he died 1995. My mother died about two years ago.

Tell us more about your seaman and ship captain dream?

There were lots of seamen in Tondo. Some of my classmates became seamen, while some of my childhood friends also became seamen, si mandurukot (pickpockets or petty thieves). (Hearty laughter) That’s the life, our life: very challenging.

How did you not end up becoming a thief like your friends?

It’s because I didn’t want to cause any harm or inconvenience to other people, other fellow poor people. My late mother used to keep telling me: “Huwag kang magpakatimawa (Do not be too desperate).” So I tried my best to persevere, to fight and struggle fairly. I had also wanted to improve myself, at least I was “promoted” from being a basurero to sidecar boy. (Laughs)

How was the crime situation then?

Crime in the 1980s? In Tondo? Good luck! (Hearty laughter)

How did you avoid falling into the crime environment of the Tondo slums then?

It’s because of my mother, Rosario “Chayong” Domagoso. She’s a good disciplinarian. I didn’t get addicted to solvent, grass, Soduflex, Bactidol, shabu… there was still no shabu yet at that time, also no cocaine.

Sa awa ng Diyos (By God’s mercy), I was never into illegal drugs. My mother was a disciplinarian, she was from Northern Samar, while my father was from Antique. My parents were like many Filipinos, they dreamt of a better life in the city but ended up in the squatter area.

I heard that, often, due to your numerous work commitments, you reportedly sleep here at City Hall?

Yes, look at that place at the back, where I have a bed where I just sleep during long nights of working. Go and take a photo of my simple bed there. For three months at the start of the pandemic crisis in March, April and May 2020, I slept here daily. Then when Delta variant spread last year, I slept daily here also for one month. Then during this year’s Omicron variant, I was working so hard day and night, I wasn’t able to go home for one week. That’s why I stayed and slept there. The reasons I didn’t go home anymore, because the lives of the people were at risk, the livelihoods of our people were at risk, so the least that I could do is to focus on the tasks at hand.

How is your relationship with President Duterte? He appointed you before as DSWD Undersecretary.

Well, I am grateful to President Duterte for giving me the opportunity to serve the nation as chairman of Northrail and later as USec. of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). I am happy and grateful for those opportunities to serve. We’ve met many, many times also when I became Mayor of Manila. I hope he appreciates our efforts here in the capital of the country.

How is your relationship with your former election rival Erap?

Okay naman, you didn’t hear anything negative against him from me. We’re okay. We both even stood as wedding godfathers together about a year ago. We talked, I have no grudges against him, because what matters most to me is where are we going tomorrow. How can we be together and build back together for a better future for our people? Tao muna, the people’s welfare is my top priority.

How do you react to various surveys?

I wish them the best. In the meantime, as I had said to you earlier, matigas man ang bulalo, lalambot din yan. I will persevere, I will campaign hard in different places nationwide up to May.

What are your top three priorities as president?

First, what I have already committed, in the first two years of my six-year term, if I’m blessed by God to become president with Doc Willie, life and livelihood. These are my topmost priorities. Protect people, life, end the pandemic, improve the healthcare system with the help of Doc Willie. Livelihood, businesses should have predictability and stability, then create more jobs with that. After we have addressed these two top priorities, then we can go on to undertake many other beautiful projects for the country. Tao muna, people first.

Like for example, five months ago, I had already proposed 50 percent tax cuts in crude oil, 50 percent tax cuts on electricity. I proposed all that even before the Ukraine crisis, but I could already foresee the projections of higher gas prices due to the global pandemic crisis and now the situation is further aggravated by the Ukraine crisis. Can you imagine the gas today? Also if I’m not mistaken, you can check, the price of coal was about $200 last week, now it’s $400, so next to follow will be higher electricity costs. If all of these things continue, ordinary people will suffer hardships. Then, next to be hard hit will be businesses, and when businesses are hit, they might close, then that would tragically result in job losses. That’s why my top priorities will be lives and livelihood.

What is the saddest thing you’ve ever experienced in your whole life?

Yung kumain ka ng tira ng tao, siguro wala ng mas lulungkot dun, at yung kinain mo galing sa basurahan pa. Iyan ang pinakamasakit (When you had to eat the leftovers of other people, perhaps there is nothing sadder than that, and what you ate even came from garbage. That was the most painful).

What are you most afraid of?

When I ride planes or choppers, it’s always frightening for me, because I have fear of heights. There are three things I fear the most in life — injection, multo (ghosts) and heights. I now regularly fly on planes and choppers, because I want to reach as many people as possible in this campaign, whether far-flung areas or the mountains, so I have to overcome the pain and psychological effects on me. I fear injections, ever since I was a kid. That’s why when I was being injected with vaccine the first time, luckily I was wearing a face mask, because I reacted with fear. We need to overcome our fears to achieve a greater good.

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