Today, the fifteenth of September, is the fiesta celebration of the parish of Ronda, with Our Lady of Sorrows as patroness. Thousands of Rondahanons from all over the world have come home to our town to celebrate this annual occasion for the veneration of the Virgin Mary in her most sorrowful experiences, having witnessed the crucifixion of her son, Jesus and the Lord's passion and death in Golgotta. Our patroness is the inspiration for all mothers in Ronda to accept sorrows as part of life, and as an integral component of human formation. But beyond the experience of sorrows, is the betterment of the human person, the purifying consequences of human pains.
Our town fiesta is our annual time to set aside our petty political and social barriers, and come together in an atmosphere of peace, harmony, reconciliation. It is a small town that we have but just like any local government unit, there are fractures in our political leaderships, fueled by some divergent ambitions and principle-based differences among friends and close relatives. But the most effective saving grace that distinguishes the Rondahanons from the folks from other towns is that in this town, there are no terrorisms and violent means being used to pursue political aspirations. And we attribute this to the inspiration and guidance of our patron saint. It is always the Virgin who unites us and save us from all calamities and disasters like flood, hurricanes and typhoons.
The town fiesta also unites the tripartite partners of the church, the local government unit and the public schools. In the earlier times, the former town leadership used to that system of taking turns. In a year, it is the church that leads the celebration, with all the church-based mandated organizations fully cooperating, like the lay ministers, the Catholic Women's League and the different chapels in the fourteen barangays and the many sitios. Then, the following year, it is the local government that leads with all the barangay officials fully cooperating; then the schools with its many elementary and primary schools as well as public and private high schools.
Ronda is the hometown of the Blancos, the Villagonzalos, the Maribaos, the Villalons, the Sias, the Gimenas and the Gimarinos, and the Taypins, the Sungcads, and the many other family names. We have a population of about twenty-five thousand and we are a fifth class municipality. Our peoples' main sources of living are farming and fishing. Thousands of Rondahananons have ventured abroad and prospered there. Many of our women married Americans, Japanese, Germans, British, Australians, Canadians. And many of our men are OFWs, seafarers, nurses, doctors, teachers, pharmacists, and workers in restaurants, hotels and shops.
Our town too is famous for the many successful professionals, especially in the field of law. Atty Clarence Paul Oaminal has written two columns about them and I am not going to repeat it. But I just have to constantly remind one and all that one of the most pro-people, pro-poor and pro-labor governor in the province of Cebu was from Ronda, Governor Francisco Emilio Famor Remotigue. He run has almost beaten Serging Osmeña for mayorship in the City of Cebu. He was a loyal Nacionalista Party stalwart. He was appointed by President Marcos in his first set of cabinet members, as DSWD secretary, then called Social Welfare Administration. In his law firm, a young lawyer from Argao started his law practice, Hilario Davide Jr, who later became Chief Justice, the father of Governor Junjun Davide.