The passing of former Manila Vice Mayor Danilo Bautista Lacuna last 13 August 2023 reminds us that although life is fleeting, the impact of our borrowed time on earth will be felt and remembered in our death. As former US President Barack Obama once said, what matters in this life is “how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better”. And with that, the former vice mayor–Boss Danny or DBL to his friends and colleagues –will definitely be missed.
DBL devoted practically his entire life to public service, starting as a casual employee at the Bureau of Public Highways (now the Department of Public Works and Highways) at the age of 19 in 1957, while taking up law at the Far Eastern University.
Working his way through law school, he finished the course in 1963 and hurdled the bar exams held in the same year.
At around the same time, he began his career in the local government of Manila, as Special Assistant to the Municipal Board.
In 1968, he was elected Councilor, serving as such until 1976 when local legislative bodies ceased to function under the Martial Law regime of then President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Meanwhile, he engaged in law practice, handling cases for indigent clients who could not afford to pay for legal services.
DBL returned to the City Government of Manila after the People Power Revolution of 1986, having been appointed OIC-Vice Mayor by newly installed President Corazon C. Aquino. He would then serve a total of almost 14 years–1986 to 1992 and 1998 to 2007–as the city’s second-in-command and the City Council’s presiding officer, a position he took advantage of to help needy constituents and enact numerous landmark ordinances that benefited the poor.
In 2005, he founded the local party Asenso Manileño, pursuant to his vision of a city led by capable leaders coming from strong and principled political parties. The party has since been a dominant force in local elections, thus far producing two mayors: Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, who considers DBL his political mentor, and incumbent mayor Maria Sheilah “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan, DBL’s eldest daughter and the city’s very first female chief executive.
In a fitting tribute to the man, the City Council of Manila gave him the prestigious Dangal ng Konseho Award, the highest recognition conferred by the Council, for “his decades of selfless service… ; his compassionate leadership that steered the Council to greater heights, producing measures that redounded to the benefit of a great number of Manileňos; and his exemplary performance worthy of emulation by future generations of public servants”.
The award was given at the celebration of the Council’s 122nd founding anniversary last 31 July.
Following his demise, the Council, on 15 August, passed a resolution condoling the bereaved family of the former vice mayor, describing him as “a man of great service and compassion”. Sponsored by no less than John Marvin “Yul Servo” Nieto, current vice mayor and presiding officer of the Council, the resolution was met with unanimous approval, following expressions of grief by individual councilors over the loss of a leader and a political giant.
Indeed, DBL lived life with a clear vision and strong purpose. He leaves a legacy of service that will always be remembered by countless Manileňos whose lives he touched. And with his passing, the whole city he left behind is in deep mourning.
