Bring Don Sergio’s remains to Cebu

First of all, allow me to thank the administration of Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella, for as he promised to senior citizens, we were able to get our senior citizen’s financial aid for July, August and September last Monday delivered to our house by City Hall employees. No, we didn’t have to leave our homes in order to secure this financial aid. So thanks to Mayor Labella for this.

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Yesterday, I wrote an entire column yesterday so that our readers, especially the millennials would get to know Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. and why he is considered the greatest Cebuano that ever lived. We Cebuanos always call Don Sergio the “grand old man of Cebu,” as he was already old when he retired. I wrote that piece so that our readers would know the contribution of Don Sergio to our history.

So to those who still say that Don Sergio was the Grand Old Man of Cebu; allow me to tell you that Don Sergio’s greatest feat was when he achieved the role of the youngest Filipino Speaker of the Philippine Assembly in 1907 at the young age of 29, which remains unparalleled until this day. That means his greatness was achieved at a very young age.

Not only that, not many Filipinos, even Cebuanos, knew or read that on June 19, 1908, Speaker Sergio Osmeña made a historic declaration of independence before the Philippine Assembly, something that history has long forgotten. This eventually led to the declaration of independence given by the Americans on the 4th of July 1946. Yes, when we talk about Philippine Independence, the name of Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. is not even mentioned when it was his declaration that prepared the Philippine nation for independence.

As I pointed our in my column yesterday, our beloved Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, who was the last of the Don Sergio Osmeña Memorial Lecturers under Cenewof, reminded us of one of Don Sergio’s greatest qualities – “humility under power.” In the 33 years of my being a journalist, I have written about the many political Osmeñas holding elective positions in the government. I have personally known former Cebu governor Emilio “Lito” Osmeña, his brother Sen. John Henry “Sonny O” Osmeña, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, and cousin the late vice mayor Renato Osmeña and his brother Councilor Rogelio “Jing-Jing” Osmeña, and let me say that none of these political names can measure up even half of what Don Sergio has done for the country.

Now allow me to write what we Cebuanos ought to do in order to give honor to Don Sergio. It is for any group or organization to come up with a plan to have the remains of Don Sergio transferred from his present grave at the Manila North Cemetery and to an appropriate place at the Fuente Osmeña Circle. Mind you, this has never been done by any groups in Cebu and if you ask the Osmeña family, they all say that it is the Osmeña cousins living in Manila who refuse to have his remains transferred to Cebu. What a selfish thought! Don Sergio now belongs to the Cebuanos, not just to the Osmeña family!

At this point, I can only suggest that the Cebu City Cultural and Historical Affairs Office (CHAC) take the lead in this momentous event in the history of Cebu. I can only hope that the members of CHAC would give any kind of importance to this project. Right now, Cebu City has nothing to show to our foreign guests of a Cebuano that we could honor by having his remains in a monument at the Fuente Osmeña Circle.

During the 60s and the 70s, when I would go with my father to book films for our moviehouses, every Sept. 9th we would take a taxi and go to the North Cemetery in order to visit the grave of Don Sergio Osmeña. Not far from his grave we would also visit the grave of the late Pres. Ramon Magsaysay, lay flowers at their graves. Mind you the North Cemetery is akin to the Carreta Cemetery in Mango Ave. and not a great place to have Don Sergio’s remains buried there. We have a rightful place for Don Sergio at the Fuente Osmeña Circle. So members of CHAC, do something for Cebu’s history.

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