FORMER MANILA MAYOR ALFREDO SIOJO LIM, 90

On Aug 10, 2020

Former Manila mayor, Cabinet secretary and senator Alfredo 'Fred/Dirty Harry' Lim with Pres. Duterte (photo credit: GMA-7)

ONE of the country’s most popular political figures, Alfredo ‘Fred’ Siojo Lim, has passed away last Saturday, August 8, 2020. He was 90 years old.

Also known as ‘Dirty Harry,’ from the police character, Lt. Harry Callaghan, popularized by Hollywood superstar, Clint Eastwood, Lim rose from the ranks of the local police force and was known, like Callaghan, for his no-nonsense approach in dealing with crimes.

Lim first rose to national prominence when, as Manila Police District director, he decided to support the ‘People Power Revolution’ in 1986 that catapulted Pres. Corazon Aquino to power.

A lawyer, Lim was appointed National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director by Mrs. Aquino in 1989, after turning down the offer to become customs commissioner.

Lim was then elected mayor of Manila in 1992, the country’s capital and was re-elected in 1995.

In 1998, he run but lost as president and in 2000, was appointed as Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary by Pres. Joseph Estrada.

He was again unsuccessful in his mayoralty bid for Manila during the 2001 elections but was elected senator in the 2004 elections.

In 2007, he run and won again as mayor of Manila and was re-elected in 2010.

Lim retired from active politics after the 2019 elections when he and his predecessor, Joseph Estrada, were beaten by incumbent mayor, Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso.

Aside from earning his law degree in 1963, Lim previously earned the degree on business administration in 1951 and his master’s degree, national security administration from the National Defense College (NDCP) with honors, in 1981 and a doctorate on philosophy in criminology in 1998, the same year that he was campaigning as president.

Lim was reportedly rushed to the hospital on Friday, August 7, 2020 and his passing the next day was confirmed by his daughter, Cynthia.

Malacañang, thru presidential spokesman, Atty. Harry Roque, had sent its sympathy to the family and friends of Lim, citing his strong stand against crime and illegal drugs.