Teresita S. Lazaro

Teresita Lazaro (born November 18, 1942) was Governor of the Philippine Province of Laguna from 2001 to 2010.

Laguna Gov. Teresita “Ningning” Santiago Lazaro started her career in public service from 1964 to 1974 as a public elementary school teacher in Cabuyao City and later in Calamba, her hometown. Her notable achievement in business became the prime factor in her appointment as Municipal Councilor of Calamba by President Corazon C. Aquino in 1986.

This was followed by her election as Calamba’s vice-mayor in 1988 to 1992. “Shooting like a bright star” in the 1992 elections, she was voted overwhelmingly as member of the Provincial Board representing the 2nd district of Laguna, comprising the municipalities of Calamba, Los Baños, Bay, and Cabuyao.

With the death of the late Gov. Felicisimo T. San Luis, then Board Member Ningning Lazaro assumed the post of vice-governor since she topped the list of elected board members.

In the 1995 elections, Vice Gov. Ningning Lazaro teamed-up with then-Senator Jose D. Lina, Jr. who ran for governor. The tandem won unanimously and both were once again re-elected during the 1998 elections. When Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Gov. Joey Lina in 2001 as Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Vice-Governor Ningning Lazaro took on the responsibility of governing one of the nation’s fastest growing provinces. She took her oath as Laguna’s first female governor on January 31, 2001.

The first lady chief executive of Laguna was formally elected governor of the province when the Comelec proclaimed her winner in the Laguna gubernatorial race during the May 2001 election where she won by a landslide. This was followed by her re-election for her second term in 2004 and just recently her last and final term after being re-elected again in the May 14, 2007 polls because of her successful public service to her fellow Lagunense.

Being among the modernized agro-industrial provinces, Gov. Lazaro’s vision is to generate more employment for the province’s growing population where majority of her constituents are creatively employed enjoying the basic comforts of life such as housing, education, livelihood, enterprises, and socio-cultural and recreational facilities. For her, this mission is achievable if there is an over-all development effort by all the sectors of society to uplift the standards of living of the people. This will then create an environment conducive to greater agricultural and industrial productivity, and income making Laguna self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-sustainable.

On her third and final tern as governor, Gov. Lazaro’s development strategies, particularly her flagship 7-Point Agenda, are bearing fruits through her enthusiastic and dynamic leadership; problems and concerns are being addressed such as poverty and employment. Indeed, like what most people say, “Laguna Laging Una!”