Francisco Moreno Damagoso's Chart

By Frederick Mallari

Francisco Moreno Domagoso, known professionally as Isko Moreno and more fondly known as Yorme Isko, was born on Oct 24,1974 in Tondo, Manila. 

 The rags-to-riches story of Domagoso is like a fairy tale story. He was a former scavenger and pedicab driver from the slums of Tondo. Domagoso defeated former Manila Mayors - Former President Joseph Estrada and Alfredo Lim - with a landslide victory of 357,925 votes - more than the numbers of Estrada and Lim combined.

Sun in Scorpio

Scorpio is the sign of extremes. With Domagoso's natal Sun in Scorpio, he tends to be an extremist in everything that he does; he tends to be an all or nothing type of person.

He is very passionate in every cause he believes in, and there is a strong need to be emotionally involved in these causes in order for him to feel fulfilled. Because his actions are passionately and emotionally charged, he can be ruthless in promoting these causes. This ruthlessness makes him stop at nothing until he gets the job done.

 Scorpios, being a fixed water sign, are like icebergs; thus, they are very firm and have very strong will-power, to the point of stubbornness, which in Domagoso's case, translates to strong political will.

 Domagoso is a person who always wants to be in control; always alert for any threat against himself, his family, or his position. However, this sense of strong Protective instinct or instinctive mistrust of everything may, at times, have the danger of leading to paranoia.

Mercury in Scorpio; Mercury in Retrograde

Having Domagoso's natal Mercury placed in Scorpio, this shows that he is very intuitive, perceptive, and clever. Moreover, Mercury in retrograde motion, at the time of his birth, indicates that he uses his capacity to think, speak, learn, and reason at the extreme ranges of its expression, which further indicates a dynamic and charismatic spokesperson or a mystic who has turned his thought processes inward.

 Mercury in retrograde can also signify the development of these traits later in his life, usually, above and between the ages 30 to 35 years old.

 Domagoso's mind is analytical and clear-thinking, it speaks of his high level of intelligence. He has excellent powers of research and investigation, which helps him offer practical solutions to problems. He has a very strong power of concentration that once he decides on what to do, he is able to stick to it. Furthermore, his natural sense of suspicion does not allow him to accept things just on hearsay; he prefers to investigate and find out the truth for himself.

He follows his instincts and beliefs with great dedication, but few will really know what he is up to as he likes to keep his motivations a secret. However, he will only reveal these things to a select person/s if he is sure that his trust would not be violated. And once betrayed, his mind turns into vindictive thoughts and grudges that can tend to be kept for a very long time, which can be very destructive to himself and to others. It is also hard to regain his trust once betrayed.

On the other hand, if he feels grateful towards anybody, his appreciation is endless and something that he will honor for the rest of his life. We can look at the case of his relationship with Danny Lacuna, former Vice-Mayor of the City of Manila, which he considers as his mentor and second father, guiding Domagoso during the tough times when he was a City Councilor of Manila. He exclaims that the hand sign he does pays tribute to Lacuna, due to old age, now suffers from some physical disabilities; however, Lacuna made the effort of making the hand sign gesture during his proclamation as the City Mayor of Manila.

 During his earlier years as City Councilor, merely a high school graduate that time and can barely speak in English (English being the official language of the city council's hearings), certain colleagues looked down at him; he was bullied, undermined and laughed upon during committee and plenary hearings. He was humiliated during public hearings because of his lack of skill in debating and communications. Although eager to participate in the deliberations, he usually failed to do so. He was taunted to just go back to his showbiz career because there is no way he can keep up with his contemporaries in the council.

 Nevertheless, Lacuna saw something in him and mentored Domagoso. Lacuna urged him to study as he labored in the council and gain the knowledge that he failed to gain because of his impoverished life. He obtained his business administration degree from the Makati-based International Academy of Management and Economics. The young councilor continued to learn, thereafter, he took policy courses at the University of the Philippines, and then law units at Arellano University. He later went to Harvard and Oxford for leadership programs.

 Although Domagoso's Mercury is considered combust by the overwhelming energy of the Sun, the usual effects of a combust Mercury do not apply, owing to Mercury being retrograde. This makes Domagoso great in making requests and in communicating his ideas. He thinks things objectively and in a detached manner without taking things too personally when someone has a different point of view and is often very skilled managers and organizers.

Venus in Libra

 The most prominent planet in the birth of Domagoso is Venus in Libra, the planet of love, affection, art, and beauty. This shows that appearances are very important to him, both his personal appearance and the appearance of his surroundings. He relies on making a good impression with his charming manner and good clothes. He also has good taste in art and music.

 These traits are seen through his tireless efforts in making the City of Manila clean and beautiful with such intense attention to detail that he does not settle for anything less than his gold standard for beauty. He wants to see his surroundings in the crest of beauty as the sight of dirty and ugly surroundings would make him feel sick and cringe. This is the same reason that he aims to restore all the heritage sites, parks and monuments of Manila with great attention to detail as this is indeed a very deep-seated goal that brings him much satisfaction in a level that has never been done before by the past administrations that neglected these sites.

He is attracted to finesse, social position, and financial independence. Vulgarity and coarseness repel him. He is very generous and has the tendency to be too extravagant. He also loves material comforts, those that give him physical ease and well-being, such as good food and accommodations. He loves the finer things in life, luxurious things - clothes, watches, shoes, cars, etc., but not the type that is too loud or too vulgar.

 He enjoys the company of his friends and associates, and the latter finds him charming and well-mannered in return. He has the intuition in knowing how to develop the best of relationships with everyone he meets. He has the ability to cooperate with others and create cooperation amongst others as well.

 His expectations within a relationship can be very high, and he tends to fall in love with the love that can be easily mistaken for true love.

 Emotional and business partnerships are very important to him, and this brings him fulfillment. He seeks harmony in his affairs, that makes him willing to make compromises; to find common ground; and, to satisfy the partner's needs for the sake of harmony within the relationship.

 During the earlier stage of his life, his strong desire for financial independence put him at the risk of the displeasure of his parents, he always had a yearning to make a life of his own.

This is an excerpt from an article that was originally published in Astro Year 2020, book 5 of Filipino Astrologer Auspicious Timing Guides.