Congratulations to Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna for having been included in the Esquire Philippines’ “100 Most Powerful People in the Philippines” list.
The said list, which included government and spiritual leaders, who “embody what power is and what can be done with it.”
In introducing the people in its list, Esquire said: “Power isn’t always obvious, but often you can sense its presence. It’s in how the dynamic of a room changes when a VIP walks in. It’s what causes goosebumps when someone is delivering an impassioned speech. And it’s how we calibrate our own responses when faced with a person who we believe wields it.
Power is authority. Power is control. And power is influence. The 100 people named here have all three. Whether it’s a government official bestowed with actual powers granted by his or her office, or a businessperson who sits at the top of an organization manifesting authority, or an entertainment or social media personality with a following in the hundreds of thousands or even millions—they embody what power is and what can be done with it.”
In it, Lacuna was described, thus: “Maria Sheilah Honrado Lacuna-Pangan, or simply Honey Lacuna, is the first female mayor in the history of the city of Manila. She amassed 534,565 votes to soundly defeat other contenders during the 2022 national elections. (Her closest rival was a far second with 165,551 votes). As a physician by profession, Lacuna worked in the dermatology department of Ospital ng Maynila in the 1990s and as a public health center physician under the Manila Health Department from 1995 to 2004. Since entering politics, she has championed health and healthcare services for the people of Manila and was instrumental in the city’s COVID-19 response.”
The recognition bestowed upon Mayor Honey is indeed, well-deserved. Not only did she break the tradition of having men run the city affairs of the Manila city government by being the first lady mayor after 151 years, she also broke the tag given to the surname Lacuna as ‘meant only for the vice mayorship,’ as the highest local post had eluded his father, the illustrious Vice Mayor Danny Lacuna.
She was also the first lady majority floor leader of the 38-member Manila City Council and the first woman to become Vice Mayor.
Mayor Honey shone further as a Vice Mayor when she took on the role not only as a hardworking partner to the equally tireless Mayor Isko Moreno.
Moreso, when she took the helm of the city government’s health cluster specially when the pandemic hit.
As a doctor, Mayor Honey was ever by the side of Mayor Isko giving advice and guidance when it came to issues related to the pandemic. Mayor Isko gave Lacuna full autonomy in running the affairs of the city’s health aspect.
Under her supervision, the city’s numerous health centers and city-owned hospitals flourished in terms of services given and accolades earned.
Mayor Honey’s expertise also came to the fore with the successful and swift vaccination processes in the city, where even non-Manilans were inoculated.
She was part and parcel of each and every worthwhile project that the administration of Mayor Isko had undertaken.
Owing to this, she is now handling the city’s affairs with ease and effectiveness.
Mayor Honey may look frail being a woman but she is actually made of hard stuff. She is strong-willed and cannot be bullied by those out to distract her from achieving her goals for the city and its people.
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