Martin Abellana, editor, Dagang Bisaya

Martin Abellana, the LUDABI (Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya) and “Ang Dagang Bisaya” editor was born in San Nicolas in 1904. Abellana is one of the Cebuano writers featured by National Artist Resil Mojares in his 1975 book “Cebuano Literature.”

Abellana was a graduate of the Cebu Normal Institute, now known as the Cebu Normal University. He was a public and private school teacher for 30 years. He was editor of the “Ang Dagang Bisaya” which was the publication of the LUDABI or the Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya. The publication had its maiden issue in 1965, other Visayan writers who became involved with the publication were Junne Canizares, Estanislao Empinado, and Laurean S. Unabia.

Godofredo M. Roperos of Balamban, Cebu, who was born on May 29, 1930, and who later became one of Cebu’s well-known columnists wrote about Abellana in “Ang katilingban ni Martin Abellana sa katilingban nga iyang gipuy-an sulod sa upat ka sugilanon” (The society of Martin Abellana in the society he lived in four stories). Roperos an alumnus of the University of the Philippines and became a technical assistant with the Malacañang Press Office and the Visayas head of the Department of Public Information.

Abellana translated into English the book of Manuel Enriquez dela Calzada entitled “Legends of the Santo Niño de Cebu”, printed by the Florido Press in 1965. The book’s illustration was done by Mary V. Avila (the Cebu City Public Library has copies of this book, it contains 37 legends about the Santo Niño de Cebu).

Abellana wrote 22 novels and 200 stories. Foremost of his works were” “Kaulit sa Kalipay,” “Ang Kalayo sa Sulad,” “Tulisok sa Tanlag,” “Basuni sa Katingala,” and “Awit sa Gugma” (in English “Song of Love”).

The other members of the Abellana Clan who became famous were Andres Abellana of the KKK Cebu and companion of Pantaleon Villegas, more famously known as Leon Kilat, when the latter retreated to Carcar days after the Battle of Tres de Abril, and Andres’ son, Hilario Abellana, who became the replacement gubernatorial candidate of Buenaventura Rodriguez who died on the eve of the election in 1940.

Hilario became one of the martyred governors of Cebu (he was executed on January 15, 1945) and his remains were never found despite a national law after the war offering a reward of P5,000 for the location of his remains. The Cebu Provincial High School was renamed on June 22, 1957 as the Abellana Vocational School.