By DIANN IVY CALUCIN
Manila City Mayor Dra. Maria Sheilah "Honey" Lacuna-Pangan led the unveiling of the city mayors' portraits, Clock Tower Museum, and coffee table books at the Bulwagang Rodriguez, Manila City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 25.
Accompanying the mayor were Manila City Vice Mayor John Marvin "Yul Servo" Nieto and Department of Tourism, Culture, and Arts of Manila (DTCAM) Director Charlie Duñgo.
Lacuna's parents, former Manila City Vice Mayor Danny Lacuna and Melanie Lacuna, were also present at the event.
The mayor said she is honored to have her portrait hanging on the hall of the Manila mayors and be recognized as the city's first female mayor lined up among the male mayors of Manila in hundreds of years.
"Finally, a woman's portrait will be presented in this hall," the mayor said.
She added that it inspires her to fulfill her sworn duty better.
In line with the event, she launched the coffee table books named "Mayors of Manila," which serve as the city's gratitude to the legacy of the past leaders.
Meanwhile, the city government also held the most awaited grand opening of the country's first-ever Clock Tower Museum.
Lacuna announced that the tower museum would be available for everyone to visit.
"We shall be inaugurating the Manila City Hall Clock Tower Museum that will now be open to the general public," the mayor said.
The Clock Tower Museum started to undergo renovation in 2020 during the previous administration of former Mayor Francisco "Isko" Moreno Domagoso.
The hexagonal-looking tower was built in 1941 and designed by Bureau of Public Works consultant Antonio Toledo. It is one of the casualties of the second world war and is said to have survived the heavy bombings.