The Saga of Super Isko
Star Power conked out during the last elections. Of the more than three dozen showbiz stars who ran for various positions, only a handful won the now-discerning voters’ nod. There’s Vilma Santos, the third-termer Lipa City mayor who won as governor of Batangas; Herbert Bautista, reelected for a third term as vice mayor of Quezon City (next stop: the mayorship?); Teri Onor, the Nora Aunor clone, as vice mayor of Abucay, Bataan; Dan Fernandez as congressman of Laguna; and a few as councilors, led by third-termer Aiko Melendez of the second district of Quezon City.
And then there’s Isko Moreno.
Running as the teammate of Danny Lacuna, the so-called dark horse in the vice mayoralty race in Manila, a virtual David pitted against such political Goliaths as Joey Hizon (with Fred Lim who won as mayor, the same position he once held), Don Bagatsing (with Ali Atienza) and Councilor Cita Astals (an “indie”).
Isko got more than 227,000 of the votes cast in the six districts of
The success story of Super Isko is something for the books, a saga that started in the garbage dump of Tondo where he tried to help augment the family income by being a basurero and ended in the august corridors of the Manila City Hall.
Turning 37 on Oct. 24, Isko Moreno Dumagoso is a Tondo Boy through and through, a graduate of the so-called School of Hard Knocks who’s not ashamed of his humble beginnings.
“It’s not a sin to be poor,” he said. “What’s a sin is if you’re poor and you don’t strive to rise above yourself.”
Manila’s vice mayor-elect is married to Diana Lynn Ditan with whom he has four children: Vincent Patrick, nine; Frances Diane, six; Joaquin Andre, five; and Franco, one year and two months.
Was the recent election more tough than the previous ones?
“Definitely! I ran for councilor three times but only in the first district of Manila. This time, I ran in all six districts so the challenge was six times bigger. People in my district knew me but I was somewhat a newcomer in a city-wide election. The people in the five other districts maybe didn’t know me well dahil hindi pa naman nila nakita ang performance ko.”
And yet, you won.
“I was pitted against the bigwigs, coming from political clans, to whom city-wide elections were not new. Maganda rin ang kampanya nila. They had the machinery and the logistics.”
How was your, well, logistics?
“Just enough. Sa awa ng Diyos, hindi naman ako lumabag sa requirements ng batas, which is P3 per voter.”
Was the campaign full of risks? You know, mayroon bang death threats, mga ganoon?
“Well, all I can say is that nakatikim ako ng kadumihan ng pulitika. During our miting somewhere in Paco, somebody threw a pillbox into the stage. All of us candidates were there but none of us was hurt, but some people were.”
What do you think is your winning factor?
“I guess the Manilans easily identified with me — you know, galing sa hirap. Fifty-four percent of the city’s population live below poverty level, those earning less than P8,000 a month. Think of how many people belong to this category. Right at City Hall, many casual employees are earning only P5,000-plus a month. Nakakalungkot isipin that right at the seat of the city government, those employees belong to the below-poverty-level category. The rest is divided among levels A, B, C and D. In Manila, mayroon pa kaming ‘E’, ‘yung talagang extremely poor na wala na halos makain.”
What do you plan to do about it?
“The truth is that our hands are tied because of the Salary Standardization Law. The city government can’t do anything much about it. Hindi ka basta-basta makakapag-raise ng salaries nila, unlike in Makati where even the tanod is paid very well.”
Before you joined showbiz, to what level did you belong?
“If there’s a category below poverty level, doon ako. The poorest among the poor. Maybe you won’t believe that our family used to eat other people’s leftovers. When I was 10 years old and in Grade 4, I would collect left-over Jollibee Chicken Joy, which we called batsoy, ‘yung mga tira-tira sa gabi. The big plastic bag contained all kinds of leftovers — softdrink cans, styrofoam, plastic spoons and forks, straws and cups, tissues including sanitary napkins, at mga tira-tirang spaghetti, hamburgers, kung anu-ano.”
Sounds like a scene from a TV soap opera.
“It’s true. We would segregate the bag’s contents, the left-over food, into kaning-baboy and kaning-tao. ‘Yung Chicken Joy na may natitira pang laman, especially pag bata ang kumain na hindi naman nauubos, we would refry. That’s what we called batsoy. Not La Paz batsoy, ha. Masarap ‘yon! Ours we called pagpag batsoy.”
What were your parents doing?
“My father, Joaquin Dumagoso, worked as a stevedore at the North Harbor. My mother, Rosario Moreno, a plain housewife, is from Allen, Northern Samar. I’m an only child — solong tagapagmana ng malaking lupain sa Tondo.” (Followed by laughter) “I have half-brothers and half-sisters, older than me, from both my father’s side. I am in good terms with them.”
So you are a true-blue Manileno, a Tondo Boy.
“Yes, I was born in Tondo. I finished elementary grades at the Rosauro Almario Elementary School in Del Pan, and high school at the Tondo High School. I never reached college. I was only a high school graduate when I was first elected councilor. When my colleagues started to belittle me, calling me bobo, ‘Hindi ‘yan nag-aral,’ na-challenge ako.”
I remember a lady councilor who mocked you for not knowing how to preside over a council meeting and refused to talk to you unless, she said, you learned to speak English well.
“You know, when I look back, I think I should thank people like her dahil sila ang naka-challenge sa akin para mag-aral uli. During my second term as a councilor, I went to UP and took a crash course in Local Legislation and Local Finance. Then, I enrolled in an off-campus course and finished college in 2003. The following year, I went back to school, this time taking up Law. I’m now on my second year at the Arellano University. Every day has been a learning experience for me, a preparation for whatever responsibility I’m aspiring for. Like now, I can say that I am qualified naman to be a vice mayor.”
Even before you announced that you were running for vice mayor, there was an issue raised against you — your going to the casino. Were you gambling?
“Oh no, I never denied that I was going to the casino. I didn’t have anything bad to hide. What issue did they try to raise against me, immorality? I don’t think going to the casino is immoral. Pinapayagan ‘yan ng batas at ng simbahan, so it’s not immoral. Ang issue ng legalidad? Yes, I was going to the casino but I wasn’t gambling; I was accompanying some Japanese for PR purposes. They wanted to play golf? Okay, I went with them even if I don’t play golf. They wanted to go to the casino? Okay, I went with them even if I don’t gamble. And what did I get from acting as their ‘guide’? Funds for my day-care projects. I was able to put up seven day-care centers. I couldn’t have done that without the donations, even if I wanted to, due to lack of government funds. Ano ang capital ko? Kapal ng mukha! Ipinanghingi ko ang mga kapitabahay ko. I was also able to build a chapel na burulan and a barangay hall. Now, even if I have to accompany more people to the casino to get more funds for my projects, I would do it. Thank God, the issue died a natural death.”
Also during the campaign, your nude photo was circulated.
“No I didn’t deny it. I was the one in the picture. Sa mga miting, I told the people, ‘Oo, ako ang nasa ritrato; hindi ko ikinahihiya ‘yon dahil kuha ‘yon sa aking pag-aartista.’ The picture shows me wearing only briefs, sitting by the pool, and was taken 10 years ago. I told the audience, ‘Walang taong matino ang magpapakuha ng ganung klaseng ritrato at tatakbo sa pulitika.’ That photo was taken as promo for a movie. I told the audience, ‘Being an actor is an honorable profession.’ I reminded them, ‘But if I portray a character, it doesn’t mean na ganoon din ako sa tunay na buhay’.”
I agree!
“I also told them, ‘If you ask me now whether I want to be a basurero or an artista, pipiliin ko pa ring mag-artista.’ I’m proud of being an actor. Pagiging artista ang ibinuhay ko sa pamilya ko.”
How did you get into showbiz?
“It was in 1993. I was 18 then, just out of high school. You know where I was discovered? Sa lamayan ng patay. Siempre, mayaman ‘yung kapitbahay kong namatay, so I went to the wake for a free meal. There are only two kinds of dead: the poor dead and the rich dead. Pag mahirap, kape na nga lang, wala pang gatas. Biscuit na nga lang, pag nahanginan, malambot na. But if the dead is rich, may sopas at sandwich, kaya dinadayo namin. That was where I was discovered by Daddy Wowie (a talent scout). He asked me, ‘Gusto mong mag-artista?’ and gave me his calling card. He got me into (Kuya Germs’)That’s Entertainment. I owe Kuya Germs a lot. He’s my guiding light, my Tatay-Tatayan. And then I started making movies. I was active for four years. In 1998, I left showbiz and ran for councilor, but I appeared on TV every now and then. Last year, I did Mga Anghel na Walang Langit (ABS-CBN) and early this year, Bakekang (GMA). But I never allowed showbiz to get in the way of my work as councilor.”
At what point in your life did you decide to join politics?
“You know, I came from the other side of the world — the depressed side. I woke up one morning and I was on the other side — the glamorous side, showbiz. Ang dami kong nilagpasan. So I thought, ‘Who’s the one behind this? Ako lang ba ang may gawa nito?’ No, not just me. It’s The One Above...ang Diyos! I told myself, ‘If you could encourage one child, just one child, to do the same, rise above his humble beginnings, then you should be happy.’ So I resolved na ‘yung good life na ibinigay sa akin ng Diyos ay maibigay ko naman sa iba in terms of service.”
Yes, giving back to the less fortunate.
“Like now. We’re here in Manila Hotel, having coffee. How much does a cup of coffee cost? The amount is good enough to buy three square meals a day for a poor family. The first time I ran, I told the people honestly na hindi ko alam ang trabaho ng isang konsehal; ako po high school graduate lamang.’ And I also told them, ‘Nobody knows better how it is to starve than I; nobody knows better than I how it is to be a student with only two uniforms to wear alternately for one week, or to wear the same old pair of shoes from first year to fourth year high school.’ I went through that.”
When you got elected (as councilor), what was your first project?
“I put up the Isko Moreno Computer Learning Center. That was in 1998. I got a lot of help from different groups. More than 3,000 have graduated since then. I want the people of Tondo to be computer-literate like the people in other areas para hindi sila mapag-iwanan. I didn’t want the people of Tondo to be lugging sacks of rice all their lives, to be kargador forever.”
What’s the best lesson that you want to impart to the youth and people who are in the same situation as you were before?
“When you dream, dream big. Life is like a wheel. Sometimes you’re down, sometimes you’re up. If given an opportunity by God, grab it and work hard, and value whatever you achieve. And, most important of all, don’t forget where you come from. It’s true: Ang taong hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan.”
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