MAYOR Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna ended her tenure as Manila’s first female mayor on June 30, closing a term that earned the city its first Seal of Good Local Governance but was marred by health permit and waste management issues.
During her final flag-raising ceremony on Monday, June 30, she highlighted her administration’s commitment to “good governance” in Manila.
“Dahil sa inyo, alam ko ang Maynila ngayon ay mas maganda, mas matibay, at mas puno ng pag-asa kaysa noong simula ng ating paglalakbay, dahil inuna natin ang mga Manileño,” Lacuna said.
“Sa ating termino lamang nagtagumpay ang good local governance sa Manila. Masinop at maayos na pag-gobyerno.”
However, she made no mention of the controversies that marked her tenure as mayor, most notably the garbage collection crisis during her final months.
Payments for the city’s waste management contractor, Leonel Waste Management Corporation, were left unpaid, resulting in a P561 million balance owed. Lacuna had rejected the contractor’s allegations, saying it was Leonel that “abandoned” its duties.
In an address Monday afternoon, newly reinstated Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said Manila’s outstanding arrears now total approximately P950 million.
Lacuna’s administration also clashed with workers over Ordinance 8793, which required all city workers to secure health permits from the city’s Health Department.
Complaints arose over substandard testing facilities and the prohibition of medical test results from other sources, upsetting many labor unions, including those at UST and UST Hospital.
READ: Substandard toilets, large crowds: UST unions complain vs Manila health permit | The Varsitarian
The issue escalated when UST withheld teaching loads from professors without permits during the first term of the Academic Year 2024-2025.
Despite a turbulent close to her term, Lacuna expressed gratitude to her colleagues, saying they “taught her to be honest” and “pushed her to be successful.”
“Araw-araw, marami akong natutuhan sa inyo. Ginawa ninyo akong isang mabuting mayor. Ginawa ninyo akong isang mabuting tao,” Lacuna said.
“Sa tatlong taon nating pinagsamahan, sa lahat ng programang ating pinagsikapan, at sa bawat hamon na ating pinagtulungan dito sa Maynila, kayo ang pumukaw sa aking isipan, nagturo sa akin maging tapat, nagtulak sa akin magpunyag.”
Elected in 2022, Lacuna implemented “Kalinga sa Maynila,” a flagship program aimed at providing medical and social services to Manileños.
Under the program, services such as medical checkups, free medicine, and tests like blood typing were provided within barangays. Kalinga sa Maynila also offered social welfare services, including registration for birth, death, and marriage certificates. The program held job fairs for unemployed citizens, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) across the city.
Aside from health and employment initiatives, Lacuna also pushed housing programs during her term.
Lacuna granted 775 land titles under her term, the highest number in the city’s history, through the “Land for the Landless” program.
Vowing to continue the programs of her predecessor Domagoso, Lacuna built low-cost housing facilities across the city.
Through the Pedro Gil Residences, a rent-to-own condominium project, Manileños had access to affordable housing open to qualified citizens, not just government employees. More than 500 families were estimated to have been provided with housing units during Lacuna’s term.
Her tenure also settled part of the debt incurred by Domagoso’s COVID-19 response, paying P2 billion of the P17 billion borrowed.
Her citizen-focused projects and prudent budget management earned Manila its first Seal of Good Local Governance, awarded to local government units with high marks in areas including financial sustainability, education, and peace and order.
Lacuna stepped down as mayor after losing to Domagoso, her former political ally, in the 2025 polls. The actor-turned-politician, who previously served as mayor from 2019 to 2022 while Lacuna was vice mayor, secured 560,338 votes, far surpassing Lacuna’s 197,572.
