Pablo Cuneta

Pablo Cuneta was born on February 2, 1910 in Pasay (then a municipality of Rizal) to Catalino Cuneta and Miguela Pablo (c. 1873 - October 15, 1948 in Rizal City).[2]

He was first married to Generosa Francisco. They had 10 children: Edgardo, Reynaldo, Leonides, Rosauro, Leticia, Jaime, Carmencita, Pablo Jr., Generoso and Aida.

In 1993, he married Elinor "Elaine" Gamboa, and they had 2 children: Cesar "Chet" and Sharon.

Cuneta started his political career when he served as deputy governor of Rizal from 1947 to 1949. In 1951, he was appointed Pasay City 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 Pasay City mayor for 41 years, the longest-serving mayor in the Philippine history. He is the only mayor to have served under 7 different Presidents: Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos P. Garcia, Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand Marcos, Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos.

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 and died due to cardiac arrest on September 27, 2000 at the age of 90. He was the longest-serving mayor in Philippines history.[3] His remains lie at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque City.

Cuneta's administration is credited for the construction of the Maricaban Settlement, the Pasay City General Hospital and the Cuneta Astrodome, among other projects.