The website of Isko Moreno is attractive in terms of color scheme, design and user interface but that’s about it. When you get to the Meet Isko page, it ends there.
“Isko Moreno, born Francisco Domagoso (October 24, 1974), is a Filipino politician and actor who currently serves as the 22nd mayor of Manila.
Domagoso was born and raised in a slum in Tondo, Manila. He helped his family by scavenging for food and junk to survive. Then, in 1993, the young Domagoso entered the entertainment business after being discovered in a funeral wake by Wowie Roxas, a talent scout. During this time, he encouraged Domagoso to audition for That’s Entertainment, a teen variety show. German Moreno hosted it, and Domagoso got the part. Because of the late television presenter’s role in catapulting his career to fame, he adopted his screen name “Isko Moreno.”
Moreno left showbiz at age 23 to enter politics in 1998, believing he was destined for public service. As a result of this election, he served as a Manila councilor for three terms. Then, in 2007 he was elected as vice mayor for three terms. During these times, Moreno took a short course at the University of the Philippines Diliman, taking up Local Legislation and Local Finance. In addition, he also studied at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila for a public administration course. Besides, the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Oxford Said Business School provided further educational opportunities to Moreno.
From July to October 2017, he served as Chairman of North Luzon Railways Corporation and from May to October 2018 as Undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for Luzon Affairs. He then resigned to seek the post of Manila mayor. As a result, Moreno’s victory was considered historic, having defeated predecessors Alfredo Lim and incumbent Joseph Estrada in the 2019 general election.
He is now running for the president of the Philippines in the 2022 election. With Dr. Willie Ong as his running mate, they will run under the Aksyon Demokratiko party founded by the late Senator Raul Roco.”
The above is verbatim. It appears that Jules Leonen, who heads his Communications Group, hasn’t had his eyes on the ball. Then again, Leonen’s expertise is social media. You can see that the grammar is hideous. It’s not fit for someone who is running for President. But it’s a lot better than lenirobredo.com.
Isko has gone a long way from his humble beginnings. From being a lowly “basurero,” his discovery by talent manager Wowie Roxas at a wake in Tondo, led him to German Moreno’s That’s Entertainment. He became a favorite of Kuya Germs and went on to achieve a small measure of success as an actor, mostly in titiliaiting roles. But make no mistake about it, what Isko lacks in intellectual depth, he more than makes up in what is “abilidad” in the vernacular. Politics is more stable and lucrative than showbiz, if you play your cards right and Isko has gone on a rollercoaster ride to where he is now.
It’s this narrative that fueled his presidential ambition, which he shares with another candidate, Manny Pacquiao. In Isko’s case, he is more polished than Pac-Man because he has been fortunate to have sharp mentors since he entered politics. Isko has been under the tutelage of Danny Lacuna, Fred Lim and Erap Estrada. This makes for an excellent knowledge base at the local level but as we have seen so far, he’s not exactly ripe yet for national politics.
Isko’s social media presence rekindled his popularity after he defeated Erap for the Manila Mayorship in the 2019 midterm election. Isko has a knack for dumping his mentors and he was true to form with Erap It did help that he had Malacanan’s blessing as he had been able to secure government appointments to NorthRail and the DSWD after the 2016 Senate race where he landed 15th.
The problem with Isko is he is similar to Leni Robredo in many respects. He has done much to beautify and put order back in place in Manila but this is part of a Mayor’s job description. Again, Isko is much like Leni; long on form, short on substance. For all the support he got from the oligarchs in the persons of Ayala and Pangilinan, he hasn’t achieved anything concrete in cutting through the bureaucratic red tape at Manila City Hall. After all, he is part and a product of that system.
The designation of Lito Banayo as his campaign manager hasn’t done much for him either. It was out of character for a campaign manager to be doing the rounds of talk shows selling his candidate but Banayo did this at the onset. There was great expectation given Banayo’s string of victories beginning in 1998 with Erap, with Noynoy in 2010 and Duterte in 2016. While Banayo was not the lead in these campaigns, he was prominent enough to land appointments after his candidate won. The entry of Banayo caused enough friction to the point that Isko’s Chief of Staff, former DOTr Undersecretary Cesar Chavez, resigned. Banayo claimed that Vince Dizon was joining their campaign after his resignation from the BCDA but as it turns out, he wasn’t committed and ended becoming the Presidential Adviser on Covid-19 Response.
The inadequacy of Isko shows in his governance platform of which there is not much to speak of despite Banayo’s earlier promise in the talk shows that it would be released shortly. What is found on Isko’s website is the following infographic.
Aside from becoming the President of Aksyon Demokratiko, which serves as his political vehicle, Banayo hasn’t been able to put together a political coalition for Isko. Reports have it that he is being backed by Mar Roxas, which explains why Egay Erice bolted from the Liberal Party with several Caloocan politicians in tow but that’s about it. There has been no signifcant addition to Isko’s line-up. Former Vice-President Noli De Castro took his oath and was supposed to run for Senator under Isko’s slate but no sooner had he joined that he also announced his withdrawal from the ticket. As it is, Isko only has three Senators under his wing, none of them standing a chance of making it in the magic 12.
Isko’s survey highs have settled down to what is the reality on the ground after two years of an immersive social media campaign which had him acting like a newscaster for the City of Manila.
The most recent survey has him at 7.9% voter preference. His desperation is beginning to show as he has claimed his Visayan roots in an effort to win over voters in the region. His mother is from Samar while his father is from Antique. Isko doesn’t even speak Waray or Ilonggo and Kinaray-a, which are the dialects in the two provinces.
Isko’s glass ceiling is too low and this show when the debate series comes around. He will not be able to hold a candle against the likes of Sen. Ping Lacson and Bongbong Marcos. In fact, some people are saying that there should be a separate debate series between Moreno, Robredo and Pacquiao so as to prevent them from embarassing themselves before the public going up against the two more seasoned candidates.
If only Isko waited until 2028 then maybe he would be more seasoned and ready for the national stage. But as it is, he has also left Manilenyos with a bad taste in the mouth as they feel they were only used by the boy from Tondo for his personal ambitions. But this is how Isko really is. The poverty he experienced has made him pragmatic to the point that he is now even open to an endorsement from the President when before he already bit the hand that fed him just as he was about to declare for the Presidency.
But as it is now, Isko’s candidacy is an example of how the poor boy from Tondo can achieve success and then go on to exploit the poor he claims to fight for, to his own advantage. Isko being a political predator can be attributed to his background when he had very little to work with to move up in the world.
Suffice to say that a President Domagoso isn’t in the cards for Isko in 2022.
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