MANILA – In a blistering escalation of Manila’s simmering political feud, Dr. Leilani Lacuna, sister of former Mayor Honey Lacuna, has filed explosive graft and usurpation of authority charges against Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso, Vice Mayor Chi Atienza, and 13 other city officials before the Office of the Ombudsman. The complaint, lodged on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, accuses the group of illegally ousting her from her role as Liga ng mga Barangay president and ex-officio city councilor through a web of threats, intimidation, and abuse of power – a vendetta, she claims, aimed at consolidating control over barangay budgets and silencing dissent in the nation’s capital.
The allegations paint a picture of raw political maneuvering, with Lacuna – a vocal critic of Domagoso’s administration – alleging a systematic campaign to undermine her influence over Manila’s 897 barangays. “Domagoso and his cohorts used threats and different intimidation tactics on barangay captains to oust me from office,” Lacuna declared in her affidavit, her words a thunderclap in a city still echoing from recent elections. She accused the mayor of betraying a personal pact: Domagoso, who endorsed her mayoral bid in 2022 after their 2019 tandem victory, had allegedly promised to retire from politics if defeated – a vow she says he shattered by running again and now weaponizing city hall against her family.
At the heart of the suit? Lacuna’s ouster from the Liga ng mga Barangay, the federation of village chiefs that wields sway over P1.2 billion in annual funds. She claims the city council, under Atienza’s shadow, grilled her on a personal trip abroad using an approved travel authority, then twisted the knife by questioning her “honesty and performance.” A pivotal meeting with Atienza, she alleges, devolved into coercion: “I was pressured to resign,” Lacuna recounted, painting a scene of veiled threats that left her feeling cornered. The final blow? A November assembly where 844 of 896 barangay captains reportedly voted her out – a tally she brands rigged through “intimidation tactics” on captains, all to forge a “full-blown dictatorship in Manila to take control of the budget for barangays.”
The charges invoke the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) and criminal usurpation of authority, with Lacuna vowing: “Domagoso and his accomplices will be held accountable under the law for their blatant violation… This is a violation of the law and the rights of every Manileño.” It’s a high-stakes gambit, filed just months after her and five other barangay chairs petitioned the Manila Regional Trial Court to nullify the Liga shake-up and restore her ex-officio council seat.
Domagoso’s camp fired back with defiance. The city government dismissed Lacuna’s claims as “mere allegations not synonymous with truth,” an “insult to their intelligence.” They touted the 844-vote supermajority as democratic due process, insisting no coercion occurred. Domagoso himself, reached for comment, stayed mum – but his silence speaks volumes in a city where his 2025 mayoral win was a comeback coup against Honey Lacuna’s incumbency.
This isn’t just family drama; it’s a microcosm of Manila’s machinations. Domagoso, the silver-haired showman who rose from street sweeper to city hall kingpin, treated Honey like a sister during his vice mayoral days, only to clash in 2022’s polls. Now, with Leilani in the crosshairs, the suit exposes fault lines in a power structure where barangay bucks – P1,000 per household annually – fuel loyalties and feuds. As the Ombudsman weighs the case, Manila watches: Will this be a swift slap or a seismic shift, proving that in the City of Firsts, family feuds can fracture empires?