The mayoralty election of Aloguinsan, Cebu in 1907

Aloguinsan, Cebu, formerly a barrio of the municipality of Pinamungajan was part of the general elections of 1907, by virtue of the Philippine Bill of 1902. It was the law that governed the administration of our country by the Americans.

In Aloguinsan, it was a three cornered fight, and after the votes were cast, this was the result: Alberto Lagahit: 33, Simeon Nengasca: 24 and Gregorio Yanong: 11. The qualified electors were not so many, as during that time, aside from age, there was a property requirement.

On November 16, 1907, losing candidate Simeon Nengasca filed a protest with the Court of First Instance of Cebu, it was raffled and handled by Judge Adolph Wislizenus. Nengasca alleged that there were 52 qualified electors whose votes were changed by the election inspectors. He alleged that the voters who could not write, it was the inspectors who wrote in their behalf and instead of voting for Nengasca, the inspectors wrote Lagahit and that the election should be annulled.

On December 27, 1907, Judge Wislizenus decided and proclaimed Nengasca as the winner of the election. Nengasca, by virtue of the decision of the court took possession of the town hall and position as mayor of Aloguinsan.

Alberto Lagahit, the candidate who earned the highest number of votes went to the Supreme Court. It was a royal battle of lawyers, as the litigants were represented by the top caliber lawyers of Cebu. Lagahit was represented by Don Filemon Yap Sotto while Nengasca had Don Domingo Franco (admitted to the bar on September 29, 1902) as his lawyer. Franco was also the lawyer of Martin Llorente (brother of Governor Julio Llorente), the mayoralty candidate of Cebu against Don Vicente Sotto during the same elections. Don Domingo Franco was also the lawyer of the Genoveva Daclison who accused that Don Vicente Sotto abducted her daughter Aquilina Vasquez, the case prospered and Sotto was even convicted after Don Mariano Cui was replaced by the American Judge Wislizenus. Thus, Sotto escaped and made a self-exile in Hongkong and came back years later when he believed that the political persecution had ended.

Simeon Nengasca was a descendant of Filomeno Nengasca, the first Capitan Municipal of Aloguinsan, which became a town in 1821.

The Supreme Court en banc (with all justices deciding) in resolving the case on January 8, 1909, annulled the decision of Judge Wislizenus of the Court of First Instance of Cebu, and ordered the Board of Canvassers to correct the canvass of the votes cast on the election held in 1907.

The decision was written by Chief Justice Cayetano Arellano (the statue that stands in front of the Palace of Justice of Cebu City), the decision was however late, as Simeon Nengasca was holding the position of Mayor since 1908.