The City Council of Manila unanimously passed on third and final reading Tuesday, 22 August 2023, an ordinance naming the session hall of the Manila City Council as the Danilo B. Lacuna, Sr. Hall.
Lacuna, father of incumbent Manila Mayor Maria Sheila “Honey” Lacuna-Pangan, was the longest-serving Vice Mayor of the city and Presiding Officer of the City Council. He passed away on 13 August 2023, surrounded by his loved ones.
“Ang ordinansang ito ay naglalayong i-memorialize at kilalanin ang legasiya ng isang tunay na lingkod bayan, na namuno sa Konsehong ito sa loob ng halos labing-apat na taon (This ordinance aims to memorialize and recognize the legacy of a true public servant, who led this Council for almost fourteen years)”, said City Council Presiding Officer John Marvin C. “Yul Servo” Nieto, who himself sponsored the ordinance, on the sidelines of the Tuesday session.
“Boss Danny” or simply “DBL” to friends and colleagues, Lacuna started his local government career in 1963, as Special Assistant to the then Manila Municipal Board, the precursor of the present-day City Council.
He became a member of the Board in 1968, serving as Councilor until it was effectively abolished in 1975 when the country was placed under martial law.
After the 1986 People Power Revolution, newly installed President Corazon C. Aquino appointed Lacuna OIC-Vice Mayor of Manila. He would then be elected to serve a total of four terms (1988 to 1992, 1998 to 2001, 2001 to 2004, and 2004 to 2007) as the city’s second-in-command.
When the City Council celebrated its 122nd founding anniversary on 31 July 2023, they gave him the prestigious Dangal ng Konseho Award, in recognition of “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”.
