Today, we have national laws such as the Human Trafficking Act to protect our labor force from forced labor or prostitution. In the past, the Cebu City Council came up with an ordinance with the same purpose.
The Cebu City Council's ordinance is entitled: "An Ordinance requiring every person, operator or owner of any employment agency or business to have all maids or boys to be sent outside the City of Cebu for employment purposes fingerprinted by the Criminal Identification Section of the Cebu Police Department."
The ordinance is denominated as City Ordinance No. 183, enacted by the Cebu City Council on September 3, 1954. The ordinance by the Municipal Board of Cebu City under Section 2 therein provides a penalty. The ordinance says that "any person, operator or owner of any employment agency or business found guilty of violating any provision of this ordinance shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding Two Hundred Pesos (P200.00) Pesos, or imprisonment of not more than two (2) months, or both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. In the case of a corporation, firm or association, the fine shall be paid by the corporation, firm or association, as the case may be."
The ordinance was approved during the time of Mayor Jose Chiong Veloso Rodriguez. Mayor Rodriguez was a Doctor of Medicine. He taught in Madrid, Spain, and was also Professor of Medicine at the University of Santo Tomas.
Rodriguez was Cebu City Mayor from December 7, 1953 to November 16, 1955 and was succeeded by Pedro Clavano who was appointed by President Ramon Magsaysay.
Dr. Rodriguez prior to being Cebu City Mayor was elected Congressman representing the old 7thDistrict of Cebu. The election was held on November 2, 1941, but those elected were not able to hold office as World War II came to our shores after the attack of Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941.
The old 7th Congressional District of Cebu (1907 to 1972) was composed of the municipalities of Balamban, Asturias, Tuburan, Tabuelan, San Remegio, Medellin, Daanbantayan, Santa Fe, Bantayan and Madridejos.
Dr. Rodriguez was reelected as congressman of the 7th District in the first election after the war, and was held on April 23, 1946.
The Municipal Board of Cebu City that enacted the fingerprinting ordinance was presided by Casimiro V. Madarang who had the title as President (today's equivalent to the position of Vice Mayor).
Casimiro V. Madarang Sr. was a famous lawyer who was admitted to the Bar on October 17, 1930. Casimiro married Dolores Regis. The Madarang couple produced five children, namely, Casimiro Jr, Jose, Ramiro, Vicente, and Corazon.
Three of the sons of Casimiro Madarang Sr. like him became lawyers and excelled in their chosen fields. His namesake, Casimiro Jr., became a lawyer on March 8, 1957. Casimiro Jr. was appointed by President Ferdinand E. Marcos as one of the members of the Commission on Elections in 1973. When the 1973 Constitution was approved, the COMELEC composition was enlarged instead of three to nine Casimiro Jr. became one of the first nine members. The chairman of the COMELEC then was former senator Leonardo B. Perez.
Jose, the second son, became a lawyer on January 26, 1961, served Cebu as a police officer, and retired as a police general. Ramiro, the third son, became a lawyer on March 19, 1966. Ramiro became Assistant General Counsel of the Government Corporate Counsel. Ramiro became the youngest Barangay Chairman of Cebu City.
Casimiro Jr. married Estrelita, and sired the following children: Consuelo, Casimiro IV and Jane Margaret-Crabtree.
Another member of the Cebu City Council was Pedro C. Son, the Pride of Talamban, Cebu City. Pedro became a lawyer on April 7, 1953, after serving the City of Cebu as Councilor for decades Pedro served the country through the judiciary. Pedro was appointed Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Cebu City Branch 11. He also taught in the College of Law of the University of San Jose Recoletos for decades and produced hundreds of lawyers as their mentor.