Alfredo Siojo Lim (born December 21, 1929) is the incumbent Mayor of the City of Manila and a former senator of the Philippines. A widower, he first served as mayor of Manila from 1992 to 1998 and returned to that post after winning in the 2007 mayoral election.

Born on December 21, 1929 in 1324 J Sampaloc, Alfredo Siojo Lim is of half Chinese descent. (His father was of full Chinese blood, and his mother a Filipina with Chinese ancestry, the 'Tecson' of San Miguel, Bulacan) He finished his elementary grade at P. Gomez Elementary School in 1943 and his secondary at Far Eastern University in 1948. He received Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration in 1951 and Bachelor of Law in 1963 both at University of the East. He finished his Master's Degree in National Security Administration with honor at the National Defense College of the Philippines in 1981.

Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada (born Jose Marcelo Ejercito on April 19, 1937) was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.

Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in an acting career spanning 33 years. He used his popularity as an actor to make gains in politics, serving as mayor of San Juan for seventeen years, as Senator for one term, then as Vice President of the Philippines under the administration of President Fidel Ramos.

Francisco Domagoso is the current vice mayor of Manila, Philippines, and a former three-term councilor of the city's first congressional district. He was also an actor, using the screen name Isko Moreno, who became known for his mature roles in the "Titillating Films" genre that was prevalent in the country during the 1990s.

Domagoso is the only child of Joaquin Domagoso (a stevedore at Manila's North Harbor) and Rosario Moreno (from Allen, Northern Samar). He found alternative sources of income at the age of 10 by pushing a cart and going house-to-house to gather old newspapers and used bottles, then reselling them at a local junk dealer. He also rummaged through restaurant garbage bins for leftover food, which his mother would recook for dinner.

Domagoso caught the attention of talent scout Wowie Roxas in 1993 while attending a funeral in Tondo and was then persuaded to join show business. He was part of That's Entertainment, a daily variety show featuring German Moreno's stable of aspiring teenage actors, under the screen name Isko Moreno. His major break came in 1993 when he was cast in a cameo role in the romantic movie May Minamahal and became a leading man to Claudine Barretto in Muntik na Kitang Minahal a year later.

Jose Livioko Atienza, Jr. (born August 10, 1941), commonly known by his nickname Lito Atienza, is the former city mayor of Manila and former secretary of the Department of Environment and Resources. He stepped down as mayor of Manila on June 30, 2007, after serving a three-year three-term limit for local government executives set by the Philippine Constitution of 1987. He currently hosts GMA Network's Maynila since 1999.

Atienza was born in the district of San Andres Bukid, four months before the outbreak of World War II. Atienza’s father, Jose J. Atienza, Sr., was a distinguished public servant to three Philippine presidents. An uncle, Herminigildo Atienza, was a World War II guerrilla leader and after the war was appointed Military Mayor of Manila by Gen. Douglas McArthur himself. Another uncle, Rigoberto Atienza, became Chief of Staff of the Philippine Armed Forces in the 1960s during the term of President Diosdado Macapagal. A third uncle, Arturo, became a renowned lawyer. The four brothers were all members of the Hunters resistance against the Japanese occupation during World War II.

The Mayor of Manila (Tagalog: Alkalde ng Lungsod ng Maynila) is the head of the executive branch of the City of Manila's government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the mayor is elected via popular vote, and may not be elected for a fourth consecutive term (although the former mayor may return to office after an interval of one term). In case of death, resignation or incapacity, the vice mayor becomes the mayor.

Prior to the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi, Manila was a Muslim chiefdom headed by datus. From the defeat of Rajah Sulayman's forces in 1595 to the passage of the Maura Law in 1895, the chief executive of the city was appointed by the Spanish government to a person of Spanish descent. The highest position a Filipino was able to hold was the cabeza de barangay. With the passage of the Maura Law, the office of capitan municipal was established, with the people electing their own town heads, although the Spanish retained considerable influence and can veto decisions.