Mayor of Manila

Mayor of Manila
Mayor of Manila
Punong Lungsod ng Maynila
	Seal of the City of Manila
	Incumbent; Honey Lacuna Pangan; since June 30, 2022
Style	The Honorable (Formal)
Seat	Manila City Hall, Ermita
Appointer	Elected via popular vote
Term length	3 years, not eligible for re-election immediately after three consecutive terms
Inaugural holder	Arsenio Cruz Herrera
Formation	1901
Website	Lungsod ng Maynila

The City Mayor of Manila (Filipino: Punong Lungsod ng Maynila, sometimes referred to as, Alkalde ng Maynila) is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the mayor is elected via popular vote, and may not be elected for a fourth consecutive term (although the former mayor may return to office after an interval of one term). In case of death, resignation or incapacity, the vice mayor becomes the mayor.

History

Prior to the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi, Manila was a chiefdom headed by datus. From the defeat of Rajah Sulayman's forces in 1575 to the passage of the Maura Law in 1895, the chief executive of the city was appointed by the Spanish government to a person of Spanish descent. The highest position a Filipino was able to hold was the cabeza de barangay. With the passage of the Maura Law, the office of capitan municipal was established, with the people electing their own town heads, although the Spanish retained considerable influence and could veto decisions.

With the eruption of the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War, the position reverted to an appointive head. With the advent of World War II, President Manuel L. Quezon appointed Jorge B. Vargas as mayor of the City of Greater Manila (forerunner of Metro Manila) in 1941. With the liberation of Manila in 1945 by combined Filipino and American soldiers under the United States Army and the Philippine Commonwealth Army including local recognized guerrillas against the Japanese Imperial forces, the earlier setup was used once again.

With the amendment of the city's charter in 1951, the position became an elective post. The first mayoral election was in 1951, and Manila's congressman from the 2nd district Arsenio Lacson defeated incumbent Manuel de la Fuente. A few years after the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos, Manila and nearby cities like Quezon City, Caloocan, and Pasay, were overshadowed by the office of the governor of the newly created Metro Manila, whom Marcos appointed his wife, Imelda Marcos, to the position.

With Arsenio Lacson becoming the first elected mayor, the city of Manila underwent The Golden Age,^[1] was revitalized, and once again became the "Pearl of the Orient", a moniker it earned before the outbreak of the war.^{[citation needed]} After Mayor Lacson's term in the 1950s, the city was led by Mayor Antonio Villegas during most of the 1960s, and Mayor Ramon Bagatsing for nearly the entire decade of the 1970s until the 1986 People Power Revolution that overthrew President Marcos.

Mayors Lacson, Villegas, and Bagatsing are often collectively considered as "the Big Three of Manila" for their rather long tenures as the city hall's chief executive (continuously for over three decades, from 1952 to 1986), but more importantly, for their indelible contribution to the development and progress of the city and their lasting legacy in uplifting the quality of life and welfare of the people of Manila.

With the ouster of Marcos following the People Power Revolution, President Corazon Aquino vacated all local executive officials and appointed officers in charge (OICs) in their place; she appointed party-mate Mel Lopez as OIC of Manila. Local elections were held in 1988, and Lopez was elected as mayor. The Local Government Code was enacted in 1991, and standardized the powers of Manila's mayor making it at par with other cities in the country.

The office of the mayor is often used as a springboard for further political ambitions. In 1961, Lacson bolted the Nacionalista Party to become the campaign manager of the Liberal Party's Diosdado Macapagal's presidential campaign. After Macapagal's victory, Lacson returned with the Nacionalistas and became a critic of the Macapagal administration. Lacson would've been likely the Nacionalista's candidate for the presidency in 1965, had not death intervened in 1962.^[2] In 1998, the sitting mayor of Manila, Alfredo Lim, did run as the Liberal Party's candidate for the presidency, but was beaten by Joseph Estrada, finishing fifth in a field of ten candidates, garnering 9% of the vote; Estrada later nominated him as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government. Lim later ran and won a Senate seat in 2004, but forfeited it three years when he ran and won as mayor again.^[3] Estrada, who was previously the mayor of bordering San Juan, defeated Lim as mayor of Manila in 2013. Their vice mayor, Isko Moreno, ran for the Senate and lost in 2016. Moreno defeated both Estrada and Lim in 2019. In 2021, Moreno announced his candidacy for president in the 2022 presidential election.^[4] Days later, Moreno's opponent Manny Pacquiao chose former mayor Lito Atienza as his running mate for vice president.^[5] Moreno, Atienza, and Pacquiao both lost their bids in 2022, respectively.

The longest-serving mayor of Manila is Ramon Bagatsing, who continuously served as the city's chief executive from 1971 until 1986. His tenure could have been longer if his term was not disrupted by the forced resignation of all local government unit heads and the appointment of officers in charge in their place after the 1986 revolution, to which Bagatsing fully supported and complied with, voluntarily handing over his position to OIC Mel Lopez.

List

No.	Name of mayor		Term	Start of term	End of term	Name of Vice mayor
Appointive position (1901–1951)
1	Arsenio Cruz Herrera	Federalist	N/A	August 7, 1901	September 18, 1905^[a]	Ramón Fernández
2	Félix M. Roxas	Federalist		September 19, 1905	January 15, 1917	Ramón Fernández
						Ramón Fernández Isabelo de los Reyes Justo Lukban Pablo Ocampo
						Pablo Ocampo
3	Justo Lukban	Liga Popular		January 16, 1917	March 6, 1920^[a]	Pablo Ocampo
4	Ramón Fernández	Democrata		March 7, 1920	July 16, 1923^[a]	Juan Posadas Jr.
5	Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr.	Democrata		July 17, 1923	February 8, 1924^[a]	Juan Posadas Jr.
6	Miguel Romuáldez	Nacionalista		February 9, 1924	August 31, 1927	Tomás Earnshaw
7	Tomás Earnshaw	Nacionalista		September 1, 1927	December 31, 1933
						Juan Posadas Jr. Isabelo de los Reyes Jorge B. Vargas
						Jorge B. Vargas
8	Juan Posadas Jr.	Nacionalista		January 1, 1934	January 4, 1940^[b]	Jorge B. Vargas
(5)	Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr.	Nacionalista		January 5, 1940	August 28, 1941	Carmen Planas
9	Juan G. Nolasco	Nacionalista		August 29, 1941	December 23, 1941	Hermenegildo Atienza
10	Jorge B. Vargas	KALIBAPI		December 24, 1941	January 26, 1942
11	Leon Guinto Sr.	KALIBAPI		January 27, 1942	July 17, 1944
12	Hermenegildo Atienza	KALIBAPI		July 18, 1944	July 18, 1945	Carmen Planas
(9)	Juan G. Nolasco	Nacionalista		July 19, 1945	June 6, 1946
13	Valeriano E. Fugoso Sr.	Liberal		June 7, 1946	December 31, 1947
14	Manuel de la Fuente	Liberal		January 1, 1948	December 31, 1951
						Carmen Planas
						Iñigo Ed. Regalado
Elective position (1952–present)
15	Arsenio Lacson Sr.	Nacionalista	1951	January 1, 1952	April 15, 1962^[b]	Jesus Marcos Roces
			1955			Jesus Marcos Roces
			1959			Antonio Villegas
16	Antonio Villegas	Liberal	1959	April 16, 1962	December 31, 1971	Herminio A. Astorga
			1963			Herminio A. Astorga
			1967			Felicisimo Cabigao
						Atty. Ernesto Maceda Sr.
						Atty. Danilo B. Lacuna Sr.
						Atty. Mel Lopez
17	Ramon Bagatsing	Liberal	1971	January 1, 1972	March 26, 1986^[c]
		Liberal	1971			Martin B. Isidro Sr.
		KBL	1980			James Barbers
18	Mel Lopez^[d]	UNIDO		March 26, 1986	December 1, 1987	Bambi M. Ocampo
		N/A				Gregorio Ejercito
		PDP–Laban				Ernesto A. Nieva
19	Gregorio Ejercito^[d]	N/A		December 2, 1987	February 2, 1988	Ernesto A. Nieva
(18)	Mel Lopez	PDP–Laban	1988	February 3, 1988	June 30, 1992	Danilo Lacuna
		LDP				Danilo Lacuna
		Lakas				Ernesto Maceda Jr.
20	Alfredo Lim	PRP	1992	June 30, 1992	March 27, 1998^[a]	Lito Atienza
20	Alfredo Lim	Liberal	1995	June 30, 1992	March 27, 1998^[a]	Lito Atienza
21	Lito Atienza	Liberal		March 27, 1998	June 30, 2007	Ernesto Nieva
						Larry Silva
			1998			Danilo Lacuna
			2001
			2004
(20)	Alfredo Lim	PMP	2007	June 30, 2007	June 30, 2013	Isko Moreno
(20)	Alfredo Lim	Liberal	2010	June 30, 2007	June 30, 2013
22	Joseph Estrada	UNA	2013	June 30, 2013	June 30, 2019
22	Joseph Estrada	PMP	2016	June 30, 2013	June 30, 2019	Honey Lacuna Pangan
23	Isko Moreno	Asenso Manileño	2019	June 30, 2019	June 30, 2022	Honey Lacuna Pangan
24	Honey Lacuna Pangan	Asenso Manileño	2022	June 30, 2022	Incumbent	Yul Servo Nieto

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Resigned from office
^ ^a ^b Died in office
^ At this time, after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, President Corazon Aquino forced the resignation of all local government unit heads and appointed officers in charge in their place.
^ ^a ^b Officer-in-charge

Vice mayor

The vice mayor is the second-highest official of the city. The vice mayor is elected via popular vote; although most mayoral candidates have running mates, the vice mayor is elected separately from the mayor. This can result in the mayor and the vice mayor coming from different political parties.

The vice mayor is the presiding officer of the Manila City Council, although they can only vote as the tiebreaker. When a mayor is removed from office, the vice mayor becomes the mayor until the scheduled next election.

#	Name	Start of term	End of term
Appointive position (1901–1951)
1	Ramón Fernández	August 7, 1901	August 7, 1907
2	Isabelo de los Reyes	August 7, 1907	August 7, 1911
3	Justo Lukban	August 8, 1911	August 8, 1915
4	Pablo D. Ocampo	August 8, 1915	March 6, 1920
5	Juan Posadas Jr.	March 7, 1920	February 8, 1924
6	Tomás Earnshaw	February 9, 1924	August 31, 1927
(5)	Juan Posadas Jr.	September 1, 1927	December 31, 1929
(2)	Isabelo de los Reyes	January 1, 1930	December 31, 1931
7	Jorge B. Vargas	January 1, 1932	January 4, 1940
8	Carmen Planas	January 5, 1940	August 28, 1941
9	Hermenegildo Atienza	August 29, 1941	July 17, 1944
(8)	Carmen Planas	July 18, 1944	December 31, 1949
10	Iñigo Ed. Regalado	January 1, 1950	December 31, 1951
Elective position (1952–present)
11	Jesus M. R. Roces	January 1, 1952	December 30, 1959
12	Antonio J. Villegas	December 30, 1959	April 15, 1962
13	Herminio A. Astorga	April 16, 1962	December 31, 1967
14	Felicisimo R. Cabigao	January 1, 1968	December 31, 1969
15	Atty. Ernesto M. Maceda Sr.	January 1, 1970	August 31, 1970
16	Atty. Danilo B. Lacuna Sr.	September 1, 1970	April 30, 1971
17	Atty. Gemiliano C. López Jr.	May 1, 1971	December 31, 1971
18	Atty. Martin B. Isidro Sr.	January 1, 1972	December 31, 1975
19	James G. Barbers	January 1, 1976	March 26, 1986
20	Bambi M. Ocampo	March 26, 1986	April 27, 1987
21	Gregorio Ejercito	April 28, 1987	June 30, 1987
22	Ernesto A. Nieva	July 1, 1987	February 2, 1988
(16)	Atty. Danilo B. Lacuna Sr.	February 3, 1988	January 31, 1992
23	Ernesto V.P. Maceda Jr.	February 1, 1992	June 30, 1992
24	José L. Atienza Jr.	June 30, 1992	March 27, 1998
(22)	Ernesto A. Nieva	March 27, 1998	March 28, 1998
25	Hilarion C. Silva	March 28, 1998	June 30, 1998
(16)	Atty. Danilo B. Lacuna Sr.	June 30, 1998	June 30, 2007
26	Isko Moreno Domagoso	June 30, 2007	June 30, 2016
27	Dr. Maria Sheilah Lacuna–Pangan	June 30, 2016	June 30, 2022
28	Yul Servo Nieto	June 30, 2022	Incumbent

Elections

References

^ Hancock 2000, p. 16
^ "Arsenio Lacson of Manila Dead". New York Times. April 16, 1962. p. 29. Retrieved February 2, 2008. Mr. Lacson had returned to the Nacionalista party, now in opposition, and was considered likely to be its Presidential candidate in 1965
^ "Former Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim Dies". Rappler. August 8, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
^ Lalu, Gabriel Pabico (September 21, 2021). "Isko Moreno to Run for President in 2022; Formal Announcement Sept 22". Inquirer.net. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
^ Maru, Davinci (October 1, 2021). "Lito Atienza Files COC as Pacquiao's VP for 2022". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved October 4, 2021.

Works cited

Hancock, Rose (April 2000). "April Was a Cruel Month for the Greatest Manila Mayor Ever Had". 1898:The Shaping of Philippine History. 35. Vol. II. Manila: Asia Pacific Communications Network, Inc. pp. 15–20.

[resigned-6] Resigned from office

[died-7] Died in office

[8] At this time, after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, President Corazon Aquino forced the resignation of all local government unit heads and appointed officers in charge in their place.

[oic-9] Officer-in-charge

[RoseHistorianManila-1] Hancock 2000, p. 16

[nyt1-2] "Arsenio Lacson of Manila Dead". New York Times. April 16, 1962. p. 29. Retrieved February 2, 2008. Mr. Lacson had returned to the Nacionalista party, now in opposition, and was considered likely to be its Presidential candidate in 1965

[3] "Former Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim Dies". Rappler. August 8, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2021.

[4] Lalu, Gabriel Pabico (September 21, 2021). "Isko Moreno to Run for President in 2022; Formal Announcement Sept 22". Inquirer.net. Retrieved September 21, 2021.

[5] Maru, Davinci (October 1, 2021). "Lito Atienza Files COC as Pacquiao's VP for 2022". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved October 4, 2021.

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