Remembering Sen. Serging Osmeña Jr.

 My family’s heartfelt condolences goes to our dear friend, The Freeman Publisher Juanito V. Jabat on the loss of his wife, Consuelo del Mar Jabat, who passed away last Easter Sunday, Mar. 23, 2008. I’m sure that no words could be said to give comfort to Nito, especially that he has lost his wife and lifelong partner. But for those of us who have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, we take comfort from the fact that Christ died for us so that we sinners can live in his bosom through eternity. It was no coincidence that Mrs. Jabat left this world to life eternal on Easter Sunday. She was born to Eternal Life.

During his talk last Monday with the Sons of David, Fr. Robin Dumaguit OAD gave me a copy of the Easter Sunday commentary by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa OFM on the question “Did Jesus really rise?” This question needed to be answered after all the risen Christ appeared only to a few of his Disciples and Apostles and the Jews insist “They stole his body.”

Fr. Cantalamessa points out, “the strongest argument that Christ is risen, is that he is alive! He is alive not because we keep him alive by talking about him, but because he keeps us alive, he communicates the sense of his presence to us, he makes us hope, ‘He touches Christ who believes in Christ,’ St. Augustine said, and the true believers experience the truth in this affirmation.” Indeed this is true. The Apostles of Christ who all disappeared during his crucifixion came out after his resurrection and proclaimed him as having risen from the dead, to the point of dying a martyr’s death for their faith.

As the old saying goes, “to those who have no faith, no amount of evidence will ever convince them to the truth, while to those who have faith, there is no need for any further proof.” May we request the pious reader to please pray for the repose of Consuelo del Mar Jabat as we commend her spirit to God’s care.

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 Today is the 24th death anniversary of one of Cebu’s greatest (the book of Pablo Tinga calls Serging as a “Legend in Politics”) political figures, the late Sen. Sergio “Serging” Osmeña Jr. who died on Mar.25,1984. He would have been 92 years old today. Serging, as he was fondly called, will always be remembered by Cebuanos for being the last politician to pose a serious challenge to the late Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos during the 1969 Presidential elections, where most of us from Cebu believed that he was cheated in that elections. Our best proof that Marcos would cheat was his declaration of Martial Law in order to extend his term beyond the limits imposed by the 1935 Constitution.

Few Cebuanos held the positions that Serging held during his lifetime. Pablo Tinga who served as Secretary to the Mayor for eight different mayors compiled Serging’s political career in his book Legend in Politics. Allow me to enumerate what Mr. Tinga has put in his book on Serging.

 Serging was elected Cebu Governor in 1951, he was elected Cebu City Mayor in 1955. In 1957, he was elected Congressman of the 2nd District. This is not the same 2nd District that we know of today. He won again as Mayor in the 1959, 1963, 1967 and 1971 elections in Cebu City. He vied for the Vice-Presidency in the 1961 elections, but lost due to the fact that he did not campaign as he should have because of the death of his father Don Sergio Osmeña, Sr. In the 1969 elections he ran against President Marcos in the last Presidential elections under the 1935 Constitution.

Cebu remembers Serging today for his being a visionary aside from being a politician. He will be remembered as the man who despite its being an unpopular move at that time, moved the airport operations from the old Lahug Airport (now the Asia Town I.T. Park) to its present site in Mactan Island, now under the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA). Because the airport was too far away, he vigorously pushed for the construction of the 1st Mactan Bridge, which to this day continues to be unnamed. I really don’t know why our politicians haven’t named the 1st Mactan Bridge as the Serging Osmeña Bridge?

Serging also pioneered land reclamation and constructed the North Reclamation area, where the SM Mall and the International Port of Cebu is located. As for his political savvy, Serging will also be remembered for his famous political slogan in Cebuano, “Bisag Unsaon, Kang Serging Gihapon”. His anti-cheating slogan which is also in Cebuano is still being in use during election time, “Lamya ang pa-on, pero iluwa ang taga!” translated, “Swallow the bait, but spit out the hook.” Today, we remember Serging who has passed on to eternal life 24 years ago because we should never forget that once upon a time, a political giant walked amongst us in Cebu and significantly changed our lives where Cebu’s economic growth continues to this day thanks to the vision of Serging Osmeña Jr..

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