Edward Hagedorn

His paternal grandfather, Hans Josef Hagedorn, was an engineer from Germany, came to the country in the early 1900s.

He studied at the St. Andrew's School, San Sebastian College – Recoletos and University of the East in Manila; however, did not finish a college degree as he dropped out.

His family later moved to Palawan, where he worked in his father's logging business and in a small club in Puerto Princesa.

Edward Solon Hagedorn (October 12, 1946 – October 3, 2023) was a Filipino politician who was the mayor of Puerto Princesa, Philippines, and later the representative of Palawan's 3rd congressional district.

Hagedorn, also an environmentalist and anti-mining advocate, served as city mayor of Puerto Princesa for two decades, only interrupted by a year since the Constitution set the limit at three consecutive three-year terms.

Edward Hagedorn was born on October 12, 1946, in Parañaque (then a municipality under Rizal), to Alexander Hagedorn, from Concepcion, Tarlac and of German descent, and Gliceria Solon of Cebu.

He was the youngest of the six children.

Hagedorn, had been an environment advocate since the 1980s, started his political career in 1992 when he was first elected mayor of Puerto Princesa and served three consecutive terms until 2001.

Initially seeking the vice mayoralty post, he eventually decided to run for mayor, defeating the incumbent Feliberto "Bert" Oliveros Jr., who had been in office for about 27 years.

He was a Lakas–NUCD member at that time.

He was first elected in 1992 and served until 2001 when he ran for governor of Palawan and lost; but was elected mayor again through the 2002 recall election, whose victory was later allowed by the Supreme Court, and continued to serve until 2013.

While in office, Hagedorn served as vice chairperson of Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) and member of Consultative Assembly, both were among the now-defunct transitional bodies created by President Fidel Ramos (Executive Order No. 371) as part of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with SPCPD focused on development efforts in an area which covered the original local entities identified in the Tripoli Agreement, including Palawan, in preparation for supposed full autonomy; he later resigned in 2000 along with two other officials.

Hagedorn also served simultaneously as mayor; in the national executive committee of the League of Cities of the Philippines as representative for Region IV and later as chairperson; and member of National Executive Board of Boy Scouts of the Philippines.

He also became a member of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development.

In 1996, it was placed in the Hall of Fame for being the country's "cleanest and greenest" component city.

The city was transformed into the country's safest, with the lowest crime rate, mainly due to decrease of smuggling and illegal logging, both related to his advocacy of environmental activities.

This resulted to, among other things, an increase of forest cover to over 2,000 hectares.

He was forbidden by the Constitution from running for another term in 2001.

He then ran for governor of Palawan, but lost.

Hagedorn ran for city mayor in the 2002 recall election initiated by barangay officials against the incumbent mayor who replaced him, Victorino Dennis Socrates, whom he later defeated along with another opponent.

On November 12, the Supreme Court, in its landmark decision, voted to allow both Hagedorn's candidacy and the proclamation; the court ruled that term limit is applied only in regular elections, special ones are exempted.

On the other hand, the city was successfully made jueteng-free by 2003.

Hagedorn was an advocate of the Bantay Dagat program, initially implemented in Palawan and later adopted in other areas in the country following a legislation.

He was also responsible for another law in which the city's move of declaring a state of calamity without the president's announcement was eventually adapted nationwide, thus allowing local government units to do so, which was enacted to support his initiative of stopping kaingin (slash and burn).

As mayor, he had to use the calamity fund to provide alternative livelihood for affected farmers, the subject of later criminal charges which was then dismissed upon enactment of the said law.

It was also during his term when the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) was declared as a national park, and later, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On July 7, 2005, Hagedorn was appointed by President Gloria Arroyo as concurrent "anti-jueteng czar" to handle the government's initiative against corruption and illegal gambling.

In his two-month campaign, he then created a legalized, government gambling counterpart called the Small Town Lottery.

His administration enforced policies and programs, mainly in environmental management as well as community-centered development.

Reforms were made in Puerto Princesa, especially within his first four years in office.

The city gained popularity, as it became a major eco-tourism destination and a model in environmental protection.

His leadership was noted for Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan, being declared in 2007 a highly urbanized city, thus independent of the province; and for the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park being included in the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

His victory in that election, while not being considered by the court a re-election, was not also counted as a fourth term, and by the Commission on Elections as a first term; the reason of the latter to qualify him to run for the third term in 2010.

In 2011, PPUR was declared one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, triggering a growth in the tourism business, particularly in tourist arrivals.

The same year, the city was declared by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as the region's first carbon-neutral city.

He lost in his attempts in later elections, in Senate in 2013, as well as returning to mayorship in a 2015 recall and in 2016.

In 2022, he was elected representative of Palawan's 3rd legislative district.

Hagedorn's leadership was directed towards establishing harmony between the environment and development.

The mayor was credited with establishing the city as a model of eco-tourism for the country.

He then served until 2013.