With the Visayan @-@ born Arsenio Lacson as its first elected mayor in 1952 ( all mayors were appointed prior to this ) , Manila underwent The Golden Age , once again earning its status as the " Pearl of the Orient " , a moniker it earned before the Second World War . After Lacson 's term in the 1950s , Manila was led by Antonio Villegas for most of the 1960s . Ramon Bagatsing ( an Indian @-@ Filipino ) was mayor for nearly the entire 1970s until the 1986 People Power Revolution . Mayors Lacson , Villegas , and Bagatsing are often collectively considered as the " Big Three of Manila " less for their rather long tenures as the city 's chief executive ( continuously for over three decades , from 1952 – 1986 ) , but more for their indelible contribution to the development and progress of the city and their lasting legacy in uplifting the quality of life and welfare of the people of Manila .