Pablo Pablo Cuneta Sr. (; February 2, 1910 – September 27, 2000) was a Filipino politician who served as the Mayor of

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...

for three terms between 1951 and 1998, making him the longest-serving mayor in the history of the Philippines. He was the father of actress and singer

Sharon Cuneta Sharon Gamboa Cuneta-Pangilinan ( , ; born January 6, 1966) is a Filipino actress, singer, television host, and socialite. Regarded as one of the most successful and highest-earning individuals in the Philippine entertainment industry, she has ...

Early life

Cuneta was born on February 2, 1910 in

(then a municipality of

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...

) to Catalino Cuneta y García (c. 1871 – c. 1948) and Miguela Pablo y de la Cruz (c. 1873 – October 15, 1948).Miguela Pablo's Death Register
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Personal life

He was first married to Generosa Francisco until her death in 1962. They had ten children: Edgardo, Reynaldo, Leonides, Rosauro, Leticia, Jaime, Carmencita, Pablo Jr., Generoso, and Aida. After Generosa’s death, he married Elinor "Elaine" Gamboa in 1963 until his death in 2000 and married for 37 years. Together, they had two children: César "Chet" and

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

Political career

Cuneta started his political career when he served as deputy governor of

from 1947 to 1949. In 1951, he was appointed

mayor. 5 years later, he ran for mayor and won. He ran again and won, in the 1959 and 1963 elections. In 1967, he was defeated by Jovito Claudio. He bounced back in the 1971 National Elections and was re-elected again in 1980. He stepped down when the Aquino government was swept into power in 1986. 2 years later, he again won in the local elections. He would top the local elections again in 1992 and 1995. At the end of his term in 1998, he had been

mayor for 41 years, the longest-serving mayor in Philippine history. He is the only mayor to have served under 7 different Presidents:

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino enter ...

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 19 ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

and

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

Health and death

His family claims he was in good health until December 1996 when rheumatism and arthritis ravaged his body. In mid-1997, he suffered a mild seizure and was confined at the

Makati Medical Center Makati Medical Center (MMC), also known as Makati Med, is a tertiary hospital in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines with more than 600 beds. The hospital was founded on May 31, 1969. The hospital is owned and operated by Medical Doctors Inc., a ...

and died due to cardiac arrest on September 27, 2000 at the age of 90. He was the longest-serving mayor in Philippine history. His remains lie at the Manila Memorial Park in

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...

Legacy

Cuneta's administration is credited for the construction of the Maricaban Settlement, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasay, Pasay City General Hospital and the

Cuneta Astrodome The Cuneta Astrodome is an indoor arena that is located in Pasay, Philippines. Since the 1993 PBA season, it was better known as the home of the Philippine Basketball Association. when it left the PhilSports Arena (that was then known as ULTRA), ...

, among other projects.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuneta, Pablo 1910 births 2000 deaths People from Pasay Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Mayors of Pasay Burials at the Manila Memorial Park – Sucat Nacionalista Party politicians Kilusang Bagong Lipunan politicians