Cesar Cortes Climaco (February 28, 1916 – November 14, 1984) was a Filipino politician who served as mayor of Zamboanga City for 11 years over three nonconsecutive terms.

A prominent critic of the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos, he was famed for his toughness in governance and colorful personality.

Coincidentally, his older brother Rafael, also a law student at UP, became an associate justice of the Court of Appeals under President Marcos.

[5] In 1954, Climaco joined the Operation Brotherhood, a group sponsored by the Jaycees to help provide for medical and relief needs to refugees in war-torn Vietnam.

[6] As the project manager and field coordinator based in Vietnam, Climaco earned the friendship of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem and found his activities covered by Life magazine.

[4] He maintained a similarly tough stance towards the city's policemen, once disarming cops he caught asleep at their posts during a surprise inspection.

[5] One measure he enacted to earn such a reputation for his city was a directive requiring all horses in horse-drawn carriages to be tied with diapers beneath their tails as they plied their routes.

[1] He struck a friendship with the mayor of Manila, Arsenio Lacson, who had earned a similar reputation for toughness and good governance.

Distressed at the development, Climaco left for exile to the United States[5] He vowed never to cut his hair until democratic rule was restored in the country.

Climaco however declined to assume his seat until he had completed his six-year term as mayor, a stance that was seen as an act of defiance against the Marcos government.

[5] On the morning of November 14, 1984, Climaco rushed to the scene of a fire that had broken out in a nightclub in downtown Zamboanga City.

Police and military officials pinned the blame on a Muslim group led by Rizal Alih,[9][20] but attempts to apprehend him were unsuccessful.

[9] Climaco's son, Julio Cesar, was appointed OIC mayor of Zamboanga City in 1986, and served in that post until the following year.