Mayor of Manila facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mayor of Manila
Seal of the City of Manila
Incumbent Isko Moreno since June 30, 2025
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) is the main leader of Manila's city government. The mayor works from the Manila City Hall. Like other local leaders in the Philippines, the mayor is chosen by a popular vote. A mayor can serve for three terms, each lasting three years. After three terms, they cannot be elected right away for a fourth term. However, they can run for mayor again after taking a break for one term. If a mayor leaves office due to death, resignation, or being unable to serve, the vice mayor takes over.

History of Manila's Mayors

Before the Spanish arrived, Manila was led by local chiefs called datus. When the Spanish took control in 1575, they appointed Spanish people to lead the city. Filipinos could only hold lower positions, like cabeza de barangay (village head). In 1895, a law called the Maura Law allowed people to elect their own town heads, called capitan municipal. But the Spanish still had a lot of power and could stop decisions they didn't like.

During the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War, the city's leader was again appointed, not elected. In World War II, President Manuel L. Quezon appointed Jorge B. Vargas as mayor of the City of Greater Manila in 1941. After Manila was freed in 1945 by Filipino and American soldiers, the system of appointing mayors continued for a while.

In 1951, the city's rules changed, and the mayor became an elected position. Arsenio Lacson was the first elected mayor in 1951. He defeated the mayor at that time, Manuel de la Fuente. Later, after President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, Manila and nearby cities were overseen by the governor of the new Metro Manila area. Marcos appointed his wife, Imelda Marcos, to this position.

When Arsenio Lacson became the first elected mayor, Manila entered a special time known as The Golden Age. The city became lively again and was called the "Pearl of the Orient," a name it had before the war. After Mayor Lacson, Antonio Villegas led the city in the 1960s, and Ramon Bagatsing was mayor for most of the 1970s.

Mayors Lacson, Villegas, and Bagatsing are often called "the Big Three of Manila." They served for a long time, from 1952 to 1986. They are remembered for helping Manila grow and improving life for its people.

After the People Power Revolution in 1986, President Corazon Aquino removed all local leaders and appointed new ones. She appointed Mel Lopez as the temporary mayor of Manila. Local elections were held in 1988, and Lopez was elected mayor. In 1991, the Local Government Code was passed. This law made the powers of Manila's mayor similar to those in other cities across the country.

The position of mayor is often a step for politicians who want to achieve more. For example, in 1961, Mayor Lacson helped Diosdado Macapagal become president. Later, Mayor Alfredo Lim ran for president in 1998 but did not win. He later became a senator and then mayor again. Joseph Estrada, who was once mayor of San Juan, became mayor of Manila in 2013, defeating Lim. Their vice mayor, Isko Moreno, later became mayor in 2019, defeating both Estrada and Lim. Isko Moreno ran for president in 2022 but lost.

The mayor who served the longest in Manila was Ramon Bagatsing. He was mayor from 1971 until 1986.

List of Manila's Mayors

No.	Image	Name of mayor	Party		Term	Start of term	End of term	Name of Vice mayor
Appointed Leaders (1901–1951)
1		Arsenio Cruz Herrera		Federalista	N/A	August 7, 1901	September 18, 1905	Ramón Fernández
2		Félix M. Roxas		Federalista		September 19, 1905	January 15, 1917
								Ramón Fernández Isabelo de los Reyes Justo Lukban Pablo Ocampo
								Pablo Ocampo
3		Justo Lukban		Liga Popular		January 16, 1917	March 6, 1920
4		Ramón Fernández		Democrata		March 7, 1920	July 16, 1923	Juan Posadas Jr.
5		Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr.		Democrata		July 17, 1923	February 8, 1924
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
9		Eulogio A. Rodriguez Sr.		Nacionalista		January 5, 1940	August 28, 1941	Carmen Planas
10		Juan G. Nolasco		Nacionalista		August 29, 1941	December 23, 1941	Hermenegildo Atienza
11		Jorge B. Vargas		Nacionalista		December 24, 1941	January 26, 1942
				KALIBAPI
12		Leon Guinto Sr.		KALIBAPI		January 27, 1942	July 17, 1944
13		Hermenegildo Atienza		KALIBAPI		July 18, 1944	July 18, 1945	Carmen Planas
14		Juan G. Nolasco		Nacionalista		July 19, 1945	June 6, 1946
15		Valeriano E. Fugoso Sr.		Liberal		June 7, 1946	December 31, 1947
16		Manuel de la Fuente		Liberal		January 1, 1948	December 31, 1951	Carmen Planas
								Iñigo Ed. Regalado
Elected Leaders (1952–present)
17		Arsenio Lacson Sr.		Nacionalista	1952	January 1, 1952	April 15, 1962	Jesus Marcos Roces
					1955
					1959			Antonio Villegas
18		Antonio Villegas		Liberal		April 16, 1962	December 31, 1971	Herminio A. Astorga
					1963
					1967			Felicisimo Cabigao
								Atty. Ernesto Maceda Sr.
								Atty. Danilo B. Lacuna Sr.
								Atty. Mel Lopez
19		Ramon Bagatsing		Liberal	1971	January 1, 1972	March 26, 1986	Martin B. Isidro Sr.
								James Barbers
				KBL	1980
20		Mel Lopez		UNIDO		March 26, 1986	December 1, 1987	Bambi M. Ocampo
				PDP–Laban				Ernesto A. Nieva
21		Gregorio Ejercito		N/A		December 2, 1987	February 2, 1988
22		Mel Lopez		PDP–Laban	1988	February 3, 1988	June 30, 1992	Danilo Lacuna
				LDP
				Lakas				Ernesto Maceda Jr.
23		Alfredo Lim		PRP	1992	June 30, 1992	March 27, 1998	Lito Atienza
				Liberal	1995
24		Lito Atienza		Liberal		March 27, 1998	June 30, 2007	Ernesto A. Nieva
								Larry Silva
					1998			Danilo Lacuna
					2001
					2004
25		Alfredo Lim		PMP	2007	June 30, 2007	June 30, 2013	Isko Moreno
				Liberal	2010
26		Joseph Estrada		UNA	2013	June 30, 2013	June 30, 2019
				PMP	2016			Honey Lacuna Pangan
27		Isko Moreno		Asenso Manileño	2019	June 30, 2019	June 30, 2022
28		Honey Lacuna Pangan		Asenso Manileño	2022	June 30, 2022	June 30, 2025	Yul Servo Nieto
29		Isko Moreno		Aksyon	2025	June 30, 2025	incumbent	Angela Lei "Chi" Ilagan Atienza Valdepeñas

Timeline of Mayors

The Vice Mayor of Manila

The vice mayor is the second most important official in Manila. The vice mayor is also chosen by popular vote. Even though mayoral candidates often have running mates, the vice mayor is elected separately. This means the mayor and vice mayor can sometimes be from different political parties.

The vice mayor leads the meetings of the Manila City Council. They can only vote if there is a tie. If the mayor leaves office, the vice mayor becomes the new mayor until the next election.

#	Name	Image	Party		Start of term	End of term
Appointed Vice Mayors (1901–1951)
1		Ramón Fernández		Nacionalista	August 7, 1901	August 7, 1907
2		Isabelo de los Reyes		Nacionalista	August 7, 1907	August 7, 1911
3		Justo Lukban		Liga Popular	August 8, 1911	August 8, 1915
4		Pablo D. Ocampo		Nacionalista	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
7		Juan Posadas Jr.			September 1, 1927	December 31, 1929
8		Isabelo de los Reyes		Nacionalista	January 1, 1930	December 31, 1931
9		Jorge B. Vargas		Nacionalista	January 1, 1932	January 4, 1940
10		Carmen Planas		Young Philippines	January 5, 1940	August 28, 1941
11		Hermenegildo Atienza		Nacionalista	August 29, 1941	July 17, 1944
12		Carmen Planas		Young Philippines	July 18, 1944	December 31, 1949
13		Iñigo Ed. Regalado			January 1, 1950	December 31, 1951
Elected Vice Mayors (1952–present)
14		Bartolome Gatmaitan			January 1, 1952	December 31, 1955
15		Jesus M. R. Roces			January 1, 1956	December 30, 1959
16		Antonio J. Villegas		Liberal	December 30, 1959	April 15, 1962
17		Herminio A. Astorga		Liberal	April 16, 1962	December 31, 1967
18		Felicisimo R. Cabigao			January 1, 1968	December 31, 1969
19		Atty. Ernesto M. Maceda Sr.		Nacionalista	January 1, 1970	August 31, 1970
20		Atty. Danilo B. Lacuna Sr.		Liberal	September 1, 1970	April 30, 1971
21		Gemiliano C. López Jr.		Liberal	May 1, 1971	December 31, 1971
22		Atty. Martin B. Isidro Sr.		Liberal	January 1, 1972	December 31, 1977
23		James G. Barbers		KBL	January 1, 1978	March 26, 1986
24		Bambi M. Ocampo			March 26, 1986	April 27, 1987
25		Ernesto A. Nieva			April 28, 1987	February 2, 1988
26		Atty. Danilo B. Lacuna Sr.		PDP–Laban	February 3, 1988	January 31, 1992
27		Ernesto V.P. Maceda Jr.		NPC	February 1, 1992	June 30, 1992
28		José L. Atienza Jr.		PRP	June 30, 1992	March 27, 1998
29		Ernesto A. Nieva		Liberal	March 27, 1998	March 28, 1998
30		Hilarion C. Silva		Lakas	March 28, 1998	June 30, 1998
31		Atty. Danilo B. Lacuna Sr.		LAMMP	June 30, 1998	June 30, 2007
				PDP–Laban
				Asenso Manileño
32		Isko Moreno Domagoso		Asenso Manileño	June 30, 2007	June 30, 2016
33		Dra. Maria Sheilah Lacuna–Pangan		Asenso Manileño	June 30, 2016	June 30, 2022
34		Yul Servo Nieto		Asenso Manileño	June 30, 2022	June 30, 2025
35		Chi Atienza		Aksyon	June 30, 2025	incumbent

Manila Mayoral Elections

The mayor of Manila works 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

Related Topics

• Gobernadorcillo
• Cabeza de Barangay
• Legislative districts of Manila. representation in the House of Representatives
• Manila City Council