Metro Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno-Domagoso raises his profile in an apparent bid to become president when he answered that he wants to the “be the captain of the ship and not just a boat” when pressed on his presidential plans during the pilot episode of the Politico Talks, the voters’ education program of www.politico.ph, livestreamed over FB last July 31.
Moreno said that he is definitely running in the 2022 elections but his focus today is addressing Manila’s needs amid the pandemic. “Ma’am Ali, as a citizen…where are we going, what is happening, the real situation, what are you going to do in this pandemic. Ako ang direksyon ko talaga ay maibsan (Covid-19 cases) because there is no playbook in this pandemic,” Moreno said during the virtual interview with veteran broadcaster Ali Sotto.
“Ang gusto ko lang naman Ma’am, marinig mo muna sakin… Saan tayo tutungo because at the end of the day, iisang bangka tayo,” the Mayor said.
When asked about his decision making on whether he has the potential to lead the people from Manila to Mindanao, “Well at the end of the day when you’re trying to go for national, to be universal, there are so many things geographically speaking, that depends on demographics. May mga classification ang mga buhay ng tao at ang bawat classification ay may kanya-kanyang pangangailangan so this must be learned by the next leader of the country,” Moreno said.
Moreno, popularly known as Yorme, marked his words with “Sana yung mga lider na susunod ay ‘yung mga lider na maaasahan with all honesty.”
In the most recent Pulse Asia Research released last July 13, 14 percent of the respondents said they would vote for Moreno in the 2022 presidential race, second to Sara Duterte who ranked 1st with 28 percent of support from the respondents.
Moreno is a native batang Manileño, who came from a poor family and rose to fame as an actor. During his childhood, he used to collect and sell bottles and was a tricycle driver in his teenage years to help his family’s needs.
At the age of 23, he entered politics and was elected to the Manila City Council. He later became Manila’s Vice Mayor from 2007 to 2016 until he defeated then Mayor Joseph Estrada in 2019.
Moreno has been publicly recognized as one of the most efficient local government executives responding to the health crisis since last year. His pandemic responses catapulted him as one of the top choices for the 2022 presidential election.