Assemblyman Alfonso "Baby" N. Corominas Jr.
Alfonso N. Corominas Jr. fondly called as Baby was born on January 18, 1928. He was the son of Alfonso E. Corominas (who was the son of Jose Corominas and Paz Escaño) and Flora A. North (her mother was Clemencia Abellana). Paz, the mother of Alfonso Sr. was the daughter of Fernando Villareal Escaño who was born on June 6, 1841 in Zambales, and Agustina Faelnar who was born on August 28, 1856 in Malitbog, Leyte. Doña Agustina was the daughter of Juan and Potencia Faelnar. The sister of Paz by the name of Teresa married Don Gil Garcia (the street in Capitol Site formerly called as Verbena was renamed after him). Jose Corominas was born on October 28, 1872 in Gigaquit, Surigao and became manager of La Naviera Filipina.
The brother of Doña Paz Escaño, the grandmother of Baby Corominas was Don Mamerto Escaño (a street in Barangay Ermita is named after him), a Doctor of Medicine established the Visayan Electric Company through the Hijos de Escaño brought after the war on March 1, 1946.
Baby Corominas was the eldest child of spouses Alfonso and Flora, his younger siblings were Cristina, Robert, Andres, Victor, and Maria Luisa. His father, Alfonso Escaño Corominas was arrested by the Japanese Military Police and brought to its headquarters, the Cebu Normal School (now Cebu Normal University) on August 11, 1944.
Alfonso Sr. was among the patriots of Cebu who died for refusing to submit allegiance to the Japanese. Alfonso Sr. was executed just like Governor Hilario Abellana, Governor Jose Leyson, and Col. Emilio V. Osmeña.
When Cebu was liberated from the Japanese it was Alfonso Jr. together with his mother, Flora who succeeded in managing the business of his father. The family then ventured to various business enterprises, the Corominas Trucking, Corominas Richard Shipping, Arrow Taxi and the Hijos de Escaño. Baby later acquired the Cebu Autobus Company of Don Sergio Suico Osmeña Sr.
When President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972, the House of Senate and the House of Representatives were abolished and padlocked. But Cebu did not bow down to the dictatorship. There were those who stood up against Martial Law and when President Marcos called for an election to be the country's first parliament, patriots of Cebu and Visayas banded and gave birth to Pusyon Bisaya. The election was held on April 7, 1978. Alfonso "Baby" N. Corominas Jr. whose veins run the blood of a patriot answered the clarion call and became a candidate of Pusyon Bisaya.
The Philippine Assembly was an election of Regional Representatives. There were 166 seats in Region VII. Pusyon Bisaya routed Marcos political party, the KBL or the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. Elected as Assemblymen (13 from Central Visayas) aside from Baby Corominas were Natalio B. Bacalso (Cebu South Expressway was renamed after him, he was well known radio commentator and Visayan writer), Bartolome C. Cabangbang (served as Congressman of the old 2nd District of Bohol from 1953 to 1965), Eutiquo C. Cimafranca, Hilario G. Davide Jr. (became Commissioner of the Commission Elections, Associate Justice and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he became Minority Floor Leader of the Assembly, he is the father of Governor Hilario Davide III), Filemon L. Fernandez (from Carmen, Cebu, became a lawyer on February 22, 1962), Jorge M. Kintanar, Valentino L. Legaspi (became a lawyer on January 19, 1954), Mariano R. Logarta, Enrique L. Medina Jr., Dominador M. Pernes, Jesus L. Villegas and Julian B. Yballe.
Alfonso "Baby" N. Corominas Jr., the business, civic, and political leader, a Proud Bisaya died on July 13, 2016 at the age of 87. His service to the Cebuanos continues with his children especially in the field of transportation.
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