Mayor of Manila
Introduction The '''city mayor of Manila''' (, 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'', was revitalized, and once again became the "Pearl of the Orient", a moniker it earned before the outbreak of the war. 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.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 2001, but forfeited it three years when he ran and won as mayor again. 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. Days later, Moreno's opponent Manny Pacquiao chose former mayor Lito Atienza as his running mate for vice president. 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 Name of mayorParty Term Start of term  End of term  Name of Vice mayor Appointive position (1901–1951)1Arsenio Cruz Herrera  FederalistN/AAugust 7, 1901  September 18, 1905Ramón Fernández2Félix Roxas    Federalist September 19, 1905 January 15, 1917Justo Lukban Pablo Ocampo  3 Justo Lukban Liga Popular January 16, 1917 March 6, 19204Ramón Fernández DemocrataMarch 7, 1920  July 16, 1923Juan Posadas, Jr.5Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr. DemocrataJuly 17, 1923  February 8, 19246Miguel Romuáldez February 9, 1924  August 31, 19277Tomás EarnshawNacionalistaSeptember 1, 1927December 31, 1933Isabelo de los ReyesJorge B. Vargas 8 Juan Posadas, Jr.  January 1, 1934 January 4, 1940(''5'')Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr.  January 5, 1940  August 28, 1941Carmen Planas9Juan G. Nolasco August 29, 1941  December 23, 1941Hermenegildo Atienza10Jorge B. Vargas December 24, 1941  January 26, 194211Leon Guinto, Sr. January 27, 1942  July 17, 194412Hermenegildo Atienza July 18, 1944  July 18, 1945Carmen Planas''(9)''Juan G. Nolasco July 19, 1945  June 6, 194613Valeriano E. Fugoso, Sr. June 7, 1946  December 31, 194714Manuel de la Fuente January 1, 1948  December 31, 1951Elective position (1952–present)15 Arsenio Lacson, Sr.  Nacionalista 1951 January 1, 1952  April 15, 1962Jesus Marcos Roces19551959Antonio Villegas16Antonio Villegas LiberalApril 16, 1962 December 31, 1971Herminio A. Astorga19631967Felicisimo CabigaoMartin B. Isidro, Sr.Danilo B. Lacuna, Sr.Mel Lopez17Ramon Bagatsing Liberal1971January 1, 1972March 26, 1986Martin B. Isidro, Sr. 1980James Barbers –Mel Lopez  March 26, 1986 December 1, 1987Bambi M. Ocampo Ernesto A. Nieva    Gregorio Ejercito – Gregorio Ejercito  December 2, 1987  February 2, 1988Ernesto A. Nieva 18Mel Lopez 1988 February 3, 1988June 30, 1992Danilo Lacuna  Ernesto Maceda, Jr. 19Alfredo Lim  1992June 30, 1992March 27, 1998Lito AtienzaLiberal199520Lito AtienzaLiberalMarch 27, 1998June 30, 2007Ernesto NievaLarry Silva1998Danilo Lacuna2001 2004 (''19'')Alfredo Lim  2007June 30, 2007 June 30, 2013Isko Moreno  201021Joseph Estrada  2013 June 30, 2013  June 30, 2019 2016 Honey Lacuna22Isko Moreno  2019June 30, 2019June 30, 202223 Honey Lacuna   2022 June 30, 2022 Incumbent Yul Servo Nieto
Elections The mayor of Manila holds office at the Manila City Hall. *1951 Manila mayoral election*1955 Manila mayoral election*1959 Manila mayoral election*1963 Manila mayoral election*1967 Manila mayoral election*1971 Manila mayoral election*1980 Manila mayoral election*1988 Manila local elections*1992 Manila local elections*1995 Manila local elections*1998 Manila local elections*2001 Manila local elections*2004 Manila local elections*2007 Manila local elections*2010 Manila local elections*2013 Manila local elections*2016 Manila local elections*2019 Manila local elections*2022 Manila local elections*2025 Manila local elections
{{anchor|vice}}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 termAppointive position (1901–1951)1Ramón Fernández August 7, 1901August 7, 19112Justo LukbanAugust 8, 1911August 8, 19153Pablo D. Ocampo August 8, 1915March 6, 19204Juan Posadas, Jr. March 7, 1920December 31, 19295Isabelo de los ReyesJanuary 1, 1930December 31, 19316Jorge B. Vargas January 1, 1932January 4, 19407Carmen PlanasJanuary 5, 1940August 28, 19418Hermenegildo Atienza August 29, 1941July 17, 1944(7)Carmen PlanasJuly 18, 1944December 31, 1951Elective position (1952–present)9Jesus M. R. Roces January 1, 1952December 30, 195910Antonio J. Villegas December 30, 1959April 15, 196211Herminio A. Astorga April 16, 1962December 31, 196712Felicisimo R. Cabigao January 1, 1968December 31, 196913Martin B. Isidro, Sr. January 1, 1970August 31, 1970–Danilo B. Lacuna, Sr.September 1, 1970April 30, 1971–Gemiliano C. López, Jr. May 1, 1971December 31, 1971(13)Martin B. Isidro, Sr. January 1, 1972December 31, 197514James Z. Barbers January 1, 1976March 26, 1986–Bambi M. OcampoMarch 26, 1986April 27, 1987–Ernesto A. Nieva April 28, 1987September 30, 1987–Gregorio EjercitoOctober 1, 1987December 1, 1987–Ernesto A. Nieva December 2, 1987 February 2, 198815Danilo B. Lacuna, Sr.February 3, 1988January 31, 1992–Ernesto V.P. Maceda, Jr. February 1, 1992June 30, 199216José L. Atienza, Jr. June 30, 1992March 27, 1998–Ernesto A. Nieva March 27, 1998May 31, 1998–Hilarion C. Silva June 1, 1998June 30, 1998(15)Danilo B. Lacuna, Sr.June 30, 1998June 30, 200717Isko Moreno Domagoso June 30, 2007June 30, 201618Maria Sheilah Lacuna–PanganJune 30, 2016June 30, 202219Yul Servo NietoJune 30, 2022Incumbent
See also *Gobernadorcillo*Cabeza de Barangay*Legislative districts of Manila. representation in the House of Representatives*Manila City Council
References ===Works cited===*