Cebu's contributions to nation-building

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines is Asia’s first republic. While its colonial history has afforded geographic unity to its more than 7,000 islands, it is still a nation divided by language, religion and culture. It was, from the start, confronted with that unique riddle posed by modernity: national identity,” the rationalé behind the ongoing exhibit at the Casa Gorordo Museum reads.

“Bringing local contributions to the fore is a task that builds a sense of ownership and confidence in one’s own culture. It is only by assuming this task that a national identity founded on respect for diversity can be attained.”

Through the “Mga Bayani sa Sugbo” exhibit, the public is encouraged to commemorate individuals – both popular and less known – who have made significant contributions to Cebu from 1898 to the 1930s.

“Today, our reality has gone beyond the traditional zones of the village, even the nation. Our daily involvement with people and events is no longer just personal but also virtual. Conventional modes of living and understanding the world are being eroded by phantasmal shifts in postmodern culture. We, therefore, need to have a solid sense of the self on which to anchor our perceived place and roles in a globalized society that is in constant flux,” said Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, executive director of the Culture and Heritage Unit of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. which initiated the exhibit in partnership with the Cebu City Government and the Cebuano Studies Center.

“The exhibit hopes to offer a glimpse of our local history through historical figures (Pantaleon Villegas a.k.a. Leon Kilat, Gen. Arcadio Maxilom, former President Sergio Osmeña Sr., former Senator Vicente Rama, and former Governor Juan Climaco, among many others, in various fields – from freedom fighting to statecraft to civic works) that can give us an opportunity to better understand ourselves and affirm that place and those roles today,” she added.

“Mga Bayani sa Sugbo” will run until October 21. This is also a feature event of the year-long celebration of Cebu City as Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ City of Culture.

Furthermore, the public will learn as to who our streets/thoroughfares are named after.

Mga Bayani Sa Sugbo

• Juan Climaco. Born in 1859, Juan Faller Climaco, came from one of the wealthiest families of Cebu in the late Spanish period. In the 1880s and 1890s, he served as capitan municipal of Toledo, where his family owned huge landholdings. Climaco’s involvement with the KKK was hazy during the revolution against Spain but he emerged as a well-known figure when the Spaniards departed. When the Filipino-American War broke out in Luzon, Luis Flores appointed Climaco as “chief of staff” in charge of the war preparations. Climaco, with Maxilom, refused to surrender Cebu to the Americans when some provincial leaders decided to set up their own headquarters in El Pardo. They later moved it to Sudlon when they realized they could not openly deal with superior American training and arms. After months of guerilla warfare, Juan Climaco – the “brains” of the resistance – surrendered to the Americans on September 26, 1901. Less than a year later, he ran for governor of the province against Julio Llorente and handily won. He was sworn into office in March 1902.

• Luis Flores. A native of Samar, Flores came to Cebu in 1891 as a steward of Bishop Martin Garcia Alcocer. With Alcocer’s patronage, he served as procurador (attorney) of the Cebu audiencia as well as regidor (alderman) of the Cebu ayuntamiento. He was involved with the Katipunan as early as 1896 or 1897. Because of his experience in administrative work and bureaucracy, he was named president of the provisional revolutionary government that was formed in San Nicolas on April 3, 1898. When the Spaniards left, he was elected president of the province and worked to organize municipal governments under the terms of the new republic. To encourage cooperation, he formed a “coalition” of officers, combining the moderate ilustrados of the city and the military elements of the revolution. His government was marred by in-fighting due to the arrival of the Americans. Shortly after deciding to surrender the city to the Americans to avoid its destruction, Luis Flores called a meeting to elect a new set of officials. He resigned and was replaced by Julio Llorente.

• Pedro and Benigna Cui. The Cui siblings were born in Cebu in the mid-1800s. Their family, regarded as one of the wealthiest in Cebu at that time, owned tobacco plantations in various parts of the province. While a successful businessman, Pedro also pursued a profession in law. Outraged over a client who claimed innocence during his trial, but later admitted his guilt after his exoneration, Pedro gave up his profession and exiled himself in his family’s hacienda in Barili. His sister, Benigna, managed the Cui household and was an active businesswoman herself. It was in philanthropy that the siblings became distinguished. They regularly gave alms to the poor. They observed that most of the destitute were old people abandoned by their own families. In 1925, they founded Hospicio de San Jose de Barili, a home for the impoverished, invalid, and abandoned elderly. It is the first charitable institution funded by private endowment in the Philippines.

• Gardeopatra Quijano. Daughter of the writer and Aglipayan bishop, Juan Quijano, Gardeopatra was born in Alcantara in 1918. She became a college teacher and a dentist. Her stories Maayong Ngalan (1937) and Ang Asawa nga Dala sa Akong Uyoan (1941) won Bisaya prizes. Some of Gardeopatra’s works appeared under her two pen names Flora Burgos and Gerardo Largavista. A vocal advocate of women’s rights, especially suffrage, she has been referred to as a nascent feminist. Many of her works reflected her political views. Her novel Lourdes, which was serialized in the most popular pre-war newspaper Bag-ong Kusog from August to September 1939, is considered the first feminist Cebuano novel.

• Vicente Rama. Born on June 6, 1887, Vicente Rama became a distinguished figure in Cebuano literature, publishing, journalism and politics. In 1915, he launched his own periodical, Nueva Fuerza, which was renamed Bag-ong Kusog (New Force) in 1920. Using the vernacular, it was probably the most successful regional publication at that time. Its readership reached parts of the Visayas, Mindanao, and even the Cebuano migrant community in Hawaii. Between 1928 and 1934, Rama also ran “Progress,” an English-language weekly. Rama entered politics as an elected councilor of Cebu City in 1916. He was mayor of the city from 1938 to 1940. He served four terms as a district representative and was a senator from 1941 to 1947. He is remembered as the “Father of Cebu City” for having authored Commonwealth Act No. 58 in 1936 which gave Cebu City its charter.

• Fernando Buyser. He was born on May 30, 1879 in Merida, Leyte. He was a secretary of patriotic leaders in both the Revolution against Spain and the Filipino-American War. He later worked as a ship official then as a priest of the Philippine Independent Church in 1905, and, in 1930, elevated to the position of bishop in Cebu. Buyser was the most prolific author of books in Sugbuanong Binisaya. His output included poems, stories, songs, speeches and plays, which explored varied subjects such as romance, dreams, love of country, everyday things and the plight of the working class. Not satisfied with traditional poetic forms, he experimented with oriental and western styles. Consequently, he was able to come up with a form akin to the first sonnet which became known as the “sonanoy.”

• Vicente Sotto. Born in Cebu City in 1881 to Manileño parents, Sotto is remembered as the “Father of Cebuano Language and Letters,” and for his vigilant stance on Philippine independence. In 1899, he (aged 22) and his brother, Filemon, published the newspapers La Justicia and El Nacional, which criticized American occupation of the Philippines. Both publications were ordered suspended and he was imprisoned in Fort San Pedro. Thus, his pen name “Taga Kotta” which means “resident of the fort.” In 1901, the maiden issue of his newspaper Ang Suga (The Light) which contained “Maming,” the first published Cebuano short story, came out. Sotto was elected mayor of Cebu in 1907 but fled to avoid facing a kidnapping suit. He returned in 1914 and began publishing The Independent in Manila the following year. A special edition of the journal was released in Paris in 1929. Its contents prodded an American senator to file a resolution to grant the Philippines immediate independence. Sotto served as representative of the second district of Cebu from 1922 to 1925. He was elected to the Senate after World War II.

• Cebuanas involved in the Revolution. Largely muted in historical narratives were the women who played supportive but no less crucial and dangerous roles during the revolution. Most of the few mentioned in books were related to prominent Katipuneros. The women were sometimes arrested, together with their children, by both Spaniards and Americans in an attempt to get to the Katipuneros. We know of Felicidad Climaco, sister of the patriots Juan and Arsenio; the Velez sisters who brought food and supplies to the revolutionaries; and the Hermanas de la Caridad who took care of wounded Katipuneros and civilians. - Photos are property of the Cebuano Studies Center, University of San Carlos