John Marvin "Yul Servo" Cruz Nieto (born February 22, 1977)
is a Filipino actor and politician who has served as the 28th
Vice Mayor of Manila since 2022.
Early life
Nieto, nicknamed "Jon-Jon" as a child, was born in
Calumpit,
Bulacan
Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...
, and was raised in
Binondo, Manila. Nieto's father, Glenn Martin Romano Nieto (born 1952), is an architect by profession who used to own a tailoring shop and served as a city councilor from 1988 to 1995. His mother was Zenaida Cruz Nieto (1948–2024).
The second of eight children in a Manila middle-class family, Nieto studied and graduated from the
Philippine College of Criminology to become a policeman but was pushed into acting by his maternal uncle.
Entertainment career
Servo entered
show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...
in 2001. His stage name Yul Servo was chosen by director
Maryo J. de los Reyes in homage to Russian actor
Yul Brynner
Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...
and Servo being the name of the head waiter in the restaurant de los Reyes frequented. He initially wanted his stage name as Ador Papa, after a famous swimmer, but agreed to the stage name given by the director. Servo started his career as a theater actor. Servo's notable films include ''Batang West Side'' (2001), ''Laman'' (2002), ''
Naglalayag'' (2004), ''Torotot'', and ''Brutus'' (2008). Several of Servo's notable acting accolades include winning the Best Actor award for ''Naglalayag'' at the 2004
Brussels Independent Film Festival, an international award-giving body based in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
.
Political career

Servo entered politics in 2007 with his election to the
Manila City Council
The Manila City Council (Spanish language, Spanish: Cabildo de Manila; Tagalog language, Tagalog: Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Maynila) is the legislature of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, capital city of the Philippines. It is composed of ...
. Upon being term-limited during his third term, Servo was elected to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
in 2016 to represent
Manila's 3rd congressional district in the chamber, being reelected to a second term in 2019.
Although he was one of the actors who appeared on some of the programs of
ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
, he is among the 70 representatives who voted "yes" to "kill" (reject) the
franchise renewal of the said network, the largest in the Philippines. A former heavy smoker himself and quitter, Servo is also the proponent of the Smoke-Free Environment Bill which aims to create more public places for people to be free from the dangers of
second-hand smoke.
Servo was later elected vice mayor of Manila in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
under the local party
Asenso Manileño. He was the running mate of then-vice mayor
Honey Lacuna
Maria Sheilah "Honey" Honrado Lacuna-Pangan (born May 6, 1965) is a Filipina physician and politician who has served as the 24th and current mayor of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, since 2022. The first woman to serve as the city ...
, who was elected mayor.
As vice mayor, Servo highlighted the
Manila City Council
The Manila City Council (Spanish language, Spanish: Cabildo de Manila; Tagalog language, Tagalog: Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Maynila) is the legislature of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, capital city of the Philippines. It is composed of ...
’s efforts to improve transparency by launching a website to access the city's ordinances and establishing a legislative team to develop new ordinances. During his tenure, the city council has approved 185 ordinances and 1,119 resolutions as of August 2024. He also emphasized his near-perfect attendance record, missing only one session as vice mayor due to late arrival on August 22, 2024. He ran for re-election in
2025
So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
, but lost to
Chi Atienza.
Controversies
On February 16, 2013, months before the election, police arrested and detained Nieto, four other councilors, and vice mayor
Isko Moreno due to alleged
bingo operations held in a public place in
Santa Cruz, Manila
Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the Manila, City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth. It is bordered by the districts of Tondo, Manila, Tondo, Binondo, Manila, Binondo, Quiapo, Ma ...
, and a lack of permit. Moreno claimed Mayor
Alfredo Lim
Alfredo "Fred" Siojo Lim (; December 21, 1929 – August 8, 2020) was a Filipino politician, police officer and lawyer who served as a Senate of the Philippines, Senator of the Philippines from 2004 to 2007, He also served as the 20th Mayor of ...
was behind his arrest, which Lim denied, asserting the bingo game was not illegal as it involved no wagers, was held in a private compound, and aimed to entertain attendees of a consultation program. They were released a day later, and the gambling charges were eventually dismissed by the
Department of Justice due to lack of evidence and vague allegations. The police complainants also failed to cite a particular provision of the law that was violated.
In August 2024, members of the Manila City Council allied with former Mayor
Isko Moreno filed an injunction against Servo, Majority Floor Leader Ernesto Isip Jr., Minority Floor Leader Philip Lacuna, and 19 other councilors allied with incumbent Mayor Honey Lacuna for allegedly conducting a session during
recess on July 23, when the city government declared all work to be suspended in view of
Typhoon Carina.
The Moreno allies who filed the suit condemned the meeting as being "illegal and secret", noting that city council funds were transferred to the office of the mayor during the meeting.
Servo belied the suit and said that the session was livestreamed.
In September 2024, Manila
Sangguniang Kabataan
A Sangguniang Kabataan (abbreviated as SK; ) is a community council that represents the youth in a barangay in the Philippines. Established to provide young people with a platform for civic engagement and participation in Local government in ...
Federation President
Juliana Rae “Yanyan” Ibay filed with the
Ombudsman
An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...
a complaint against Servo and the city councilors for violation of the
Local Government Code and the Sangguniang Kabataan Act of 2015. The case stemmed from her alleged illegal ouster as youth committee chairwoman during a ‘secret session.'
Personal life
Servo is married to Flovelyn Lola and has five children. Their son Lucas (born 1998) was the
third nominee of Juan Pinoy Partylist for the
2025 election, where it ran unsuccessfully.
Outside acting and politics, Servo is an avid
skateboarding
Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...
fan and rides the skateboard. Servo is good friends with fellow actor
Piolo Pascual, who is also the
godfather to four of Servo's children.
Filmography
Films
Television
Acting awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
*
*
Hon. Nieto, John Marvin "Yul Servo" C.at the
House of Representatives of the Philippines
The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Servo, Yul
1977 births
Living people
Vice mayors of Manila
Filipino actor-politicians
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Manila
Manila City Council members
Partido Demokratiko Pilipino politicians
Nacionalista Party politicians
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino politicians
Aksyon Demokratiko politicians
Asenso Manileño politicians
ABS-CBN people
GMA Network (company) people
TV5 Network people
Male actors from Bulacan
Male actors from Manila
People from Binondo