May 20, 2025 at 2:53:00 PM
Manila mayor-elect Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso is set to return as the capital’s chief executive after a landslide victory over incumbent Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna. Photo by Shane Quiachon/The Capital
THE KID from Tondo has won the hearts of Manileños once again.
After testing his luck in the 2022 presidential election, former Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso returned to the local political scene and reclaimed the top post at City Hall.
The actor-turned-politician became the capital’s 25th mayor with a landslide victory, earning 527,507 votes in the 2025 midterm polls based on the latest unofficial and partial results released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Media.
Despite leading by a wide margin on election night, May 12, Moreno was not immediately proclaimed as Manila’s new mayor due to incomplete manual ballot transmissions. However, he expressed gratitude to the Manila voters for their “overwhelming” support.
“Nagulat kami na overwhelming ‘yung lumabas na resulta... Maraming maraming salamat mga batang Maynila, I hope na mai-ayos ulit natin ang lungsod,” Moreno, 50, said in a press conference at the Manila City Council on Tuesday morning.
“We’re very optimistic that with the help of the people of Manila, we can make Manila great again,” he added.
Running under Aksyon Demokratiko, Domagoso unseated his former close ally and Manila’s first female mayor, Maria Sheilah "Honey" Honrado Lacuna-Pangan, who finished with 190,315 votes.
Coming in third was co-founder of marketing company Frontrow and television host Samuel “SV” Versoza Jr., an independent candidate, who finished with 164,047 votes.
Both Versoza Jr. and Lacuna-Pangan conceded defeat via social media.
“Nais ko pong batiin ang nanalong kandidato. Hiling ko na ang kanyang tagumpay ay tagumpay rin ng buong lungsod. Manila deserves nothing less than honest, transparent, and compassionate leadership,” Versoza Jr. said in a Facebook post on Monday night.
“Maraming salamat sa pagbigay ninyo ng pagkakataon na ako'y maging kauna-unahang babaeng punong lungsod sa kasaysayan ng Maynila. Habang buhay kong handog sa inyo ang pagmamahal ng isang ina at kalinga ng isang doktora,” Lacuna-Pangan, the outgoing mayor, said in a Facebook video the next day.
In the vice mayoralty race, Domagoso’s running mate, Angela Lei "Chi" Atienza Valdepeñas, dominated the polls with 582,510 votes to replace John Marvin "Yul Servo" Cruz Nieto, who received 249,419 votes.
Meanwhile, Joaquin Domagoso, son of the incoming mayor, took the top councilor spot in the first district of Manila with 114,262 votes.
Domagoso, who served as Manila’s mayor from 2019 to 2022, campaigned with the slogan “Make Manila Great Again.” He vowed to restore the clean and safe Manila he left when he aimed for the top national seat.
He also swore to revisit and amend the controversial City Ordinance 8793, a health permit policy passed under his administration during the pandemic but enforced more stringently under Lacuna, which several workers and educators grew skeptic over the timing of the implementation and costly fees that come with obtaining the permit from the government-backed laboratory.
However, Domagoso’s comeback was not without controversy as Comelec had earlier issued him a show-cause order over allegations of vote-buying after he was seen handing out P3,000 to public school teachers. Both Lacuna-Pangan and Verzosa faced similar complaints, which they denied.
Out of 1,142,174 registered voters in Manila, 81.15 percent or 926,887 voters participated in this year’s elections. S. L. A. Macaraeg and T. Tamio
TAGS:
Isko Moreno, Honey Lacuna, Sam Verzosa, Mayoralty race