The Honorable
Honey Lacuna–Pangan
A woman smiling
Lacuna in 2022
28th Mayor of Manila
Assumed office
June 30, 2022
Preceded byIsko Moreno
Vice MayorYul Servo
19th Vice Mayor of Manila
In office
June 30, 2016 – June 30, 2022
Mayor
Preceded byIsko Moreno
Succeeded byYul Servo
City Social Welfare Officer of the Manila Department of Social Welfare
Acting
In office
June 30, 2013 – October 14, 2015
MayorJoseph Estrada
Preceded byJay Dela Fuente
Succeeded byArnold Martin Pangan (OIC)
Member of the Manila City Council from the 4th District
In office
June 30, 2004 – June 30, 2013
Vice President for Internal Affairs and National Executive Board Member of Aksyon Demokratiko
Assumed office
August 12, 2021
Party PresidentIsko Moreno
Deputy Leader of Asenso Manileño
Assumed office
2005
Party LeaderIsko Moreno
Personal details
Born
Maria Sheilah Honrado Lacuna

(1965-05-06) May 6, 1965
Manila, Philippines
Political partyAsenso Manileño (2005–present)
Other political
affiliations
SpouseArnold Martin Pangan
Children1
Parent
ResidenceSampaloc, Manila
Education
Occupation
  • Politician
  • physician
Profession
WebsiteMayor of Manila website

Maria Sheilah Honrado "Honey" Lacuna–Pangan (born May 6, 1965) is a Filipina physician and politician who has served as the mayor of Manila since 2022. The first woman to serve as the city's mayor, Lacuna previously served as the city's vice mayor from 2016 to 2022, and as a member of the Manila City Council from 2004 to 2013. She is a child of the former vice mayor Danilo Lacuna.

Early life

Lacuna was born on May 6, 1965[1][2] in Manila to Danilo Lacuna, a lawyer who would later serve as a city councilor and vice mayor of Manila, and Melanie Honrado, a former Philippine National Bank (PNB) executive.[1][3] She earned a biology degree at the University of Santo Tomas, earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute, passed the physician board examination in 1992, and completed her residency training in dermatology at the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center.[1][3] She eventually became a fellow of the Philippine Dermatological Society.[2]

Career

A general practitioner with specialization in dermatology by profession, Lacuna worked as a resident physician of the dermatology department of Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center from 1992 to 1995 and as the public health center physician under the Manila Health Department from 1995 to 2004. As the latter, she was assigned to the Bacood Health Center in Santa Mesa and later to the Tondo Health Center in Tondo. Her father, then Vice Mayor Danny Lacuna, then tasked her to head the medical team of his office's regular medical and dental mission conducted every week in various depressed communities in Manila.[2]

She served as the Acting City Social Welfare Officer of Manila from 2013 to 2015.[1][3] Even as a politician, Lacuna continued her door-to-door visit to patients that she has been doing since before entering politics.

Political career

Joseph Estrada's (second from right) election campaign rally in Tondo, Manila in 2016 along with Isko Moreno (left), Grace Poe (second from left), and Honey Lacuna (right)

Lacuna then entered politics when she substituted a candidate for councilor in the 4th district of Manila who withdrew from the race ahead of the 2004 city elections. She ran under the ticket of her father, who was the running mate of former mayor Mel Lopez of Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino.[4] She then won, serving as a Manila city councilor from the 4th district for three consecutive terms from 2004 to 2013.[1] As councilor, she served in the minority whip from 2004 to 2007, chairperson of the Committee on Education, a member of 38 committees, and majority floor leader, the first woman to be named so.[3] She also authored, among others, the following:[2]

  • Ordinance No. 8095 designating Bicycle and Motorcycle Lanes in the main thoroughfares in Manila;
  • Ordinance No. 8179 creating the Manila AIDS Council for the prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections;
  • Ordinance No. 8117 mandating all business establishments, private and public offices in the City of Manila, including schools to require all their applicants and employees to submit to drug testing and to conduct unannounced drug tests on all their employees at least once a year; and
  • Ordinance No. 8102 requiring the city’s hymn ("Awit ng Maynila") in all flag ceremonies of schools, offices and other institutional/official programs and in the opening of any and all official gatherings in Manila.
Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna (left), together with vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. (right) and Mayor Isko Moreno (center), during the opening of Santa Ana Hospital's cold storage facility that can store up to 900,000 COVID-19 vaccines at a time in 2021

In the 2016 city election, she was chosen as the running mate of incumbent mayor Joseph Estrada, who was seeking re-election under Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP);[5] she then won the vice mayoralty race.[6] She became the first woman to be elected vice mayor since the post became an elective position. She was then reelected in 2019, this time as the running mate of her predecessor Isko Moreno, who was running for mayor under Asenso Manileño and defeated Estrada.[1] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she stood as a point person for Moreno in coordinating with the hospital directors of Manila, applying her expertise as a medical doctor.[7] In 2021, she joined Aksyon Demokratiko and was named as the party's Vice-President for Internal Affairs and National Executive Board Member.[8]

Lacuna during the grand proclamation rally of Asenso Manileño for the 2022 local elections

With Isko Moreno running for president in 2022, Lacuna was nominated by Asenso Manileño to run for mayor in 2022 to succeed him, with Manila's 3rd district representative Yul Servo as her running mate and vice mayoral candidate.[9] She won the race by a huge margin over her closest rival, Alex Lopez, making her the first-ever female to be elected mayor of Manila in 450 years.[10] She was inaugurated before outgoing mayor Moreno on June 29, 2022, at the Manila Cathedral,[11][12] but only officially started her term on the next day, succeeding him. As mayor, she vowed to prioritize health care and expand Moreno's programs.[13]

On August 5, 2022, Lacuna was conferred with a degree of Doctor of Public Administration, honoris causa by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.[14]

Personal life

Lacuna is married to Arnold "Poks" Martin Pangan,[3] a fellow physician and registered social worker who is the incumbent City Health Officer of Manila, a former acting City Social Welfare Department Head of Manila, and a 2013 candidate for Manila councilor from the 4th district.[15] They have one daughter.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Casucian, J. A. C.; Gonzales, K. I. C. (June 30, 2019). "'Door-to-Door' Thomasian Doctor Wins Second Term as Manila Vice Mayor". The Varsitarian. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cabayan, Itchie (March 22, 2021). "Lacuna excels as Manila's vice mayor". Journal Online. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Vice Mayor". City of Manila. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ Sison, Bebot Jr.; Felipe, Cecille Suerte (May 18, 2004). "Atienza triumphs in Manila". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  5. ↑ "5 Politikos Compete for Manila Vice Mayor in 2016". Politiko Luzon. October 9, 2015. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  6. ↑ Torres-Tupas, Tetch (May 10, 2016). "Estrada reelected Manila Mayor". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  7. ↑ Talabong, Rambo (March 26, 2020). "Fighting coronavirus: How Manila stays ahead of the curve – for now". Rappler. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  8. ↑ Mendoza, John Eric (August 12, 2021). "Isko Moreno now Aksyon Demokratiko president". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  9. ↑ De Leon, Dwight (September 22, 2021). "Honey Lacuna seeks to succeed Isko Moreno as Manila mayor – sources". Rappler. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  10. ↑ Locus, Sundy Mae (May 11, 2022). "Honey Lacuna proclaimed as Manila's first female mayor". GMA News. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  11. ↑ Baroña, Franco Jose (June 29, 2022). "First woman mayor of Manila sworn in". The Manila Times. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  12. ↑ Yalao, Khriscielle (June 29, 2022). "Lacuna, Nieto take oath before outgoing Mayor Isko". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  13. ↑ Moaje, Marita (July 4, 2022). "Manila's first female mayor vows to prioritize health care". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna is a doctor again". Politiko Metro Manila. August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  15. ↑ "MISMONG si Manila Health Department Director, Dr. Arnold "Poks" Pangan ang nagsimula ng pagbabakuna sa unang senior citizen at healthcare worker". Hataw (in Filipino). March 10, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
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