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 2004, 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 ImageName of mayorParty Term Start of term End of term Vice mayor(s)Appointive position (1901–1951)1Arsenio Cruz Herrera FederalistaN/AAugust 7, 1901 September 18, 1905Ramón Fernández2Félix M. Roxas Federalista September 19, 1905 January 15, 1917Ramón Fernández Isabelo de los Reyes Justo Lukban Pablo OcampoPablo 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, 1927Tomás Earnshaw7Tomás EarnshawNacionalistaSeptember 1, 1927December 31, 1933Juan Posadas Jr. Isabelo de los Reyes Jorge B. VargasJorge B. Vargas 8 Juan Posadas Jr. January 1, 1934 January 4, 1940 9Eulogio Rodriguez January 5, 1940 August 28, 1941Carmen Planas 10Juan G. Nolasco August 29, 1941 December 23, 1941Hermenegildo Atienza11Jorge B. Vargas December 24, 1941January 26, 1942 12Leon Guinto Sr. January 27, 1942 July 17, 1944 13Hermenegildo Atienza July 18, 1944 July 18, 1945Carmen Planas 14Juan G. Nolasco July 19, 1945 June 6, 1946 15Valeriano E. Fugoso Sr. June 7, 1946 December 31, 194716Manuel de la Fuente LiberalJanuary 1, 1948 December 31, 1951Carmen PlanasIñigo Ed. RegaladoElective position (1952–present)17 Arsenio Lacson Nacionalista 1952 January 1, 1952 April 15, 1962Jesus Marcos Roces19551959Antonio Villegas18Antonio Villegas LiberalApril 16, 1962 December 31, 1971Herminio A. Astorga19631967Felicisimo CabigaoErnesto MacedaDanilo LacunaMel Lopez19Ramon Bagatsing Liberal1971January 1, 1972March 26, 1986 Martin B. Isidro Sr.James Barbers 1980 20 Mel Lopez March 26, 1986 December 1, 1987Bambi M. Ocampo Ernesto A. Nieva 21 Gregorio Ejercito December 2, 1987 February 2, 1988 22 Mel Lopez 1988 February 3, 1988June 30, 1992Danilo Lacuna Ernesto Maceda Jr. 23 Alfredo Lim 1992June 30, 1992March 27, 1998Lito AtienzaLiberal1995 24 Lito AtienzaLiberalMarch 27, 1998June 30, 2007Ernesto A. NievaLarry Silva1998Danilo Lacuna2001 2004 25 Alfredo Lim 2007June 30, 2007 June 30, 2013Isko Moreno 201026Joseph Estrada 2013 June 30, 2013 June 30, 2019 2016 Honey Lacuna 27Isko Moreno 2019June 30, 2019June 30, 2022 28 Honey Lacuna Pangan 2022 June 30, 2022 June 30, 2025 Yul Servo 29Isko Moreno 2025 June 30, 2025 Incumbent Chi Atienza
Timeline
Notes
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. List # Name ImageParty Start of term End of termAppointive position (1901–1951)1Ramón J. Fernández August 7, 1901August 7, 19072Honorio Lopez August 7, 1907August 7, 19093Isabelo de los Reyes August 7, 1909August 7, 19114Justo Lukban Liga PopularAugust 8, 1911August 8, 19155Pablo Ocampo August 8, 1915March 6, 19206Juan Posadas Jr. March 7, 1920February 8, 19247Tomás Earnshaw February 9, 1924 August 31, 19278Juan Posadas Jr. September 1, 1927December 31, 19299Isabelo de los ReyesJanuary 1, 1930December 31, 193110Jorge B. Vargas January 1, 1932January 4, 1940 10Carmen PlanasYoung PhilippinesJanuary 5, 1940August 28, 1941 12Hermenegildo AtienzaAugust 29, 1941July 17, 1944 13Carmen Planas Young PhilippinesJuly 18, 1944December 31, 1949 14Iñigo Ed. RegaladoJanuary 1, 1950December 31, 1951Elective position (1952–present)15Bartolome GatmaitanJanuary 1, 1952December 31, 195516Jesus M. R. Roces January 1, 1956December 30, 195917Antonio Villegas December 30, 1959April 15, 196218Herminio A. Astorga April 16, 1962December 31, 196719Felicisimo R. CabigaoJanuary 1, 1968December 31, 196920 Ernesto Maceda January 1, 1970August 31, 197021Danilo Lacuna September 1, 1970April 30, 197122 Mel Lopez May 1, 1971December 31, 197123Martin B. Isidro Sr. January 1, 1972December 31, 197724 James Barbers January 1, 1978March 26, 198625Bambi M. OcampoMarch 26, 1986April 27, 198726Ernesto A. NievaApril 28, 1987February 2, 198827 Danny Lacuna February 3, 1988January 31, 199228 Ernesto V.P. Maceda Jr. February 1, 1992June 30, 199229 Lito Atienza June 30, 1992March 27, 199830Ernesto A. Nieva March 27, 1998April 28, 199831Larry Silva April 28, 1998June 30, 199832Danny Lacuna June 30, 1998June 30, 2007 33Isko Moreno June 30, 2007June 30, 201634Honey Lacuna June 30, 2016June 30, 202235 Yul Servo June 30, 2022June 30, 202536Chi Atienza June 30, 2025 incumbent
Elections
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 2028 Manila local elections
See also Gobernadorcillo Cabeza de Barangay Legislative districts of Manila. representation in the House of Representatives Manila City Council
References
Works cited