Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan and Vice Mayor John Marvin "Yul Servo" Nieto will definitely run for re-election in the coming 2025 elections.
Lacuna-Pangan said that she and Nieto are confident to renew for another three years the mandate the public gave them in the May 2022 elections.
This was formally declared by the Manila's two incumbent highest officials when they guested at the monthly "Balitaan Forum" of the Manila City Hall Reporters' Association at the Harbor View Restaurant in Ermita, Manila on Tuesday, August 27.
"We are ready for anyone who will compete for the mandate from Manileños. We have a strong record of public service and results that our constituents can measure up against others," she stated.
She said they are hopeful that after three consecutive terms of serving as mayor, she will be succeeded by Nieto for another three consecutive terms.
They announced that they will run together and will also file their certificates of candidacy together in October to seek another term in 2025.
During the forum, the mayor also expressed confidence that there will be no change in the leadership in Manila in the coming years.
The programs and projects they have completed for the residents during their first term are validations of the genuine concern they have for the greater majority of Manileños, she added.
Nieto said he is proud to be Lacuna-Pangan's partner again in next year's polls, noting how the mayor continues to inspire him with her kind of leadership and dedication to duty that redound to the benefit of the city and its residents.
Meanwhile, Lacuna-Pangan said that while infrastructures may be aesthetically good, there is a greater need to focus on the kind of assistance which is immediately needed by more people.
Compared to the housing projects that will only benefit a few, she said the special assistance program (SAP) which provides monthly cash aid worth P500 to senior citizens, persons with disability (PWD), minors with disability, solo parents and university students benefit hundreds of thousands.
The amount in the cash assistance program, she noted, could have been increased if the city government is not paying a P17.8 billion loan left behind by the previous administration.
She said that her administration has asked help from barangay leaders on the distribution of the said monthly cash assistance to the beneficiaries.
Nieto mentioned that under his stewardship, the Manila City Council was able to digitize its records of 9,000 ordinances passed in 77 years, and that the access to all these documents is now just a click away.
The mayor also highlighted the infrastructure projects of her administration, including the animal shelter and clinic near the Vitas Slaughterhouse which will open in September as well as three six-story school buildings in Districts 1, 5, and 6.
The schools located in Tondo are the Isabelo Reyes Elementary School and Jacinto Elementary School which are both expected to be finished in early 2025.
The groundbreaking at V. Mapa Elementary School in District 6 is set to begin while phase 1 is already finished at Aurora Quezon Elementary School.