Don Sergio S. Osmeña Sr., the first Speaker of the Philippine Congress

The Philippine Bill of 1902 established the Philippine Congress which was theoretically a bicameral congress, composed of the Philippine Commission as the Upper House whose members were appointed by the President of the United States of America and the Philippine Assembly considered as the Lower House composed of representatives elected by congressional districts.

The Philippine Congress officially became bicameral when the Americans enacted the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916 more known as the Jones Law. The law created the Philippine Senate, dividing the country into 12 senatorial districts, with each district having its own two senators. It was the same law that renamed the Philippine Assembly as House of Representatives.

The first to be elected as Speaker of the Philippine Congress was a Cebuano, the Grand Old Man of Cebu, Don Sergio Suico Osmeña Sr. He was elected Member of the 1st Philippine Assembly on July 30, 1907. When the assembly was convened, he was elected as speaker on October 16, 1907.

Speaker Osmeña held the office until 1922, when the latter ran for the Senate on June 6. At the Senate, Osmeña became Senate President Protempore and majority floor leader with Don Manuel Quezon as Senate president.

Don Sergio took the Bar examinations in 1903, the results of which were released in 1905. He placed second with 95.66% with Manuel Quezon in third place with a score of 87.83%.

On April 23, 1904 Don Sergio assumed as acting governor of Cebu when incumbent governor Juan Climaco was appointed one of the Philippine Commissioners to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition to the United States. On May 31 of the same year, Don Sergio was also appointed provincial fiscal of Cebu.

Don Sergio was elected governor of Cebu on February 5, 1906, he later became the chairman of the 1st Convention of Provincial Governors of the Philippines.

The son and namesake of Don Sergio, Serging was also elected governor of Cebu and senator. The grandson of Don Sergio, by the name of Tomas “Tommy” dela Rama Osmeña, became the first elected post-EDSA Cebu City mayor and was also recently re-elected Cebu City mayor. [email protected]