The 1937 Cebu provincial elections
The local elections of 1937 was held on December 14, 1937. For the post of governor in Cebu, it was a contest between Buenaventura Rodriguez and Vicente Yap Sotto. The candidate of the Nacionalista Party headed by Don Sergio Osmeña was Rodriguez while Sotto was running under the "Frente Popular."
The Frente Popular was a newly formed party founded in Manila in September 1936, an opposition party against the dominant Nacionalista Party founded by Osmeña with President Manuel Quezon as ally. The Frente Popular was a mixture of the political parties like that of the National Socialist Party led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the Republican Party of Bishop Gregorio Aglipay, the Founder of the Philippine Independent Church more known as the Aglipayan Church, the Partido Democrata headed by Juan Sumulong, there was also the Socialist Party of Pedro Abad Santos, and the Sakdalista Party of Benigno Ramos.
Vicente Sotto, the candidate for Cebu Governor had Buenaventura Veloso and Felicidad Climaco as candidates for Provincial Board Members. Felicidad Climaco is the Tandang Sora of the Cebuano Revolt against Spain, she championed the women's independence and suffrage. This was the first time a woman was allowed to run. Originally in the 1935 Constitution, though it did not allow women to vote, but it had a provision, authored by the Sotto brothers in compromise to the opposition of the majority that the issue of women suffrage or the right to vote and running for public office be submitted to the people through a plebiscite. Years after, the women's suffrage won, thus Climaco with the support of Vicente Sotto was the first woman in Cebu to run for public office.
A street in Cebu City is named after Felicidad Climaco, it is located within one of the streets in Espina Subdivision. It was by virtue of a Cebu City Ordinance No. 641 dated October 14, 1968.
Interestingly, Don Vicente Sotto in one of his speeches criticized the construction of the Cebu Provincial Capitol (actually it was Governor Sotero Cabahug who built it, but eventually it was Rodriguez who occupied it) as a waste of people's money and promised that if he wins he would convert it into a hospital. It was providential that the Cebu Provincial Capitol was not converted into a hospital but a government hospital built by the Americans in 1913, previously named as the Southern Islands Hospital was renamed in 1992 after him. It is now called the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
The following year, Sotto, after losing in the gubernatorial elections, prepared for the elections of 1938. The elections was held on November 9, 1938, it was a congressional elections. In the 1938 congressional elections, the candidates of the Frente Popular Cebu Chapter had Ines Villa for the 1st District, Matias Aznar for the 2nd District, Sotto for the 3rd District, Teodorico Bajarias for the 4th District, Jose Ma. Espina for the 5th District, Ignacio Villagonzalo for the 6th District and Angel Ancajas for the 7th District.
In the 1938 elections, Sotto lost to Maximino Noel. The old 3rd Congressional District was composed of Talisay, Naga, Minglanilla, San Fernando and Carcar. A street in Talisay City is named after Cebu's longest serving Congressman Maximino Noel.
Don Vicente Sotto, two years before the elections in 1937, also run for the elections held on September 17, 1935. He ran as Representative of the old Sixth District of Cebu (then composed of the municipalities of Barili, Dumanjug, Ronda, Aloguinsan, Pinamungajan and Toledo). Sotto lost to Nicolas Rafols. In the 1935 elections, the opposition party (against Osmena's Nacionalista Party) was called the National Socialist Party. It was organized by Atty. Joaquin Natividad.
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