MANILA - Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Wednesday said he was "never ashamed" of working as a sexy star in the 80s and 90s, even now when he is vying for the presidency in the 2022 national elections.

Domagoso - a former garbage collector and pedicab driver - became a matinee idol and starred in several racy films in the 80s and 90s after he was recruited to join the entertainment industry while attending a funeral in the capital city.

"'Yun naman ay hindi ko kinubli at hindi ko kinakahiya hanggang ngayon," he told TeleRadyo's "Ikaw Ang On The Spot: The Presidential Candidate's Interview."

(That was something I never hid and I was never ashamed of even now.)

"Kahit sa mga anak ko, sinasabi ko sa kanila na ang pag-aartista ay isang disenteng propesyon. Ito ang bumuhay sa atin for quite some time," he said.

(I even tell my children that being an actor is a decent profession. It is what sustained us for quite some time.)

In August, President Rodrigo Duterte publicly shamed an unnamed Metro Manila mayor for posing in his underwear in the past, saying such a person is unfit to lead.

While the President did not mention names, Domagoso is the lone mayor in the capital region who worked as a matinee idol and sexy star in the 80s and 90s.

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"Kapag tinutuya-tuya ka, hindi naman ako robot, may kurot 'yung ganun
pero at the end of the day, I have to face the music," Domagoso said.

(I am not a robot so it stings when you are being mocked, but at the end of the day, I have to face the music.)

"May mga taong kapag walang nakikita sa iyong pangit sa pamamahala, o sa pag gogobyerno, maghahanap 'yan ng ibang bagay kahit personal na. Doon na lang sila titira," he said.

(There are people who attack your personal life when they can't find anything wrong with your administration or your governance.)

Domagoso said he left show business for good in 1998 when he first ran for public office and won a seat in Manila's City Council.

He eventually earned a diploma in public administration from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, and enrolled in non-degree programs at the University of the Philippines, the Harvard Kennedy School, and Oxford University's Saïd Business School.

In 2019, Domagoso was elected Manila Mayor after serving as city councilor and vice mayor for about 2 decades.

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