Incumbent Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna and her party, Asenso Manileño, are set to hold their proclamation rally on Friday, March 28, as she guns for another term as the city's chief executive.
According to Manila Public Information Office (MPIO) chief Atty. Princess Abante, Lacuna and her party will be leading the event to be held on Earnshaw Street in Sampaloc from 6 p.m. onwards.
Abante said Sampaloc is part of the city's 4th district which is where Lacuna began her political career as a Manila councilor from 2004 to 2013 and became the first woman majority floor leader. She later served as the first woman presiding officer when she became the city's vice mayor.
Also leading the affair are five out of the six incumbent congressmen who opted to be in the Lacuna slate, namely Congressman Rolan Valeriano (2nd district), Congressman Joel Chua (3rd district), Congressman Edward Maceda (4th district), Congressman Irwin Tieng (5th district) and Congressman Benny Abante, Jr. (6th district) and majority of the Manila councilors.
The party's candidate for first district representative is Manny Lopez, son of former Mayor Mel Lopez Jr. and returning lawmaker, while Dr. Giselle Maceda is gunning for the post of Rep. Edward who has reached his third term.
Abante said the team will kick off their campaign with a Mass in Sta. Mesa, to be followed by a house-to-house visit, citing how important it is for the lady to mayor to have a personal interaction with her constituency, as proven by the "Kalinga sa Maynila" program which she launched upon her assumption to office in 2022.
The program's primary goal is for the mayor to bring her department heads to the barangays to personally address right there specific concerns, complaints, and suggestions from the residents themselves.
While Lacuna will be on the campaign trail, Abante said the affairs of Manila will also continue to be her priority, citing how Lacuna took charge of the city's affairs while campaigning back in 2022 and while the then mayor, Isko Moreno, was already busy campaigning in the provinces.
"Huwag natin kalimutan na noong 2022, si Mayor Honey, bilang vice mayor, ang siyang naging taumbahay sa Manila City Hall, dahil busy na si Isko sa pangangampanya sa mga probinsiya nun. Sa kabila niyan ay naalagaan nang husto ni Mayor Honey ang buong Maynila (Let's not forget that in 2022, Mayor Honey, who was the vice mayor that time, was the one primarily handling the affairs at the Manila City Hall because then-Mayor Isko was busy campaigning in the provinces. Despite this, Mayor Honey took care of Manila outstandingly)," Abante stressed.