Last words on  Pres. Osmeña's father

Last June 3, 2023, we finally revealed the identity of the true father of President Sergio Osmeña: Don Antonio Sanson. For decades, most Filipinos have heard or read that President Osmeña's father was Don Pedro Singson Gotiaoco, the Chinese immigrant from Fujian who became a successful business tycoon in Cebu. So it is but fitting that Osmeña's father's identity was announced this month as we celebrate Father's Day in the month of June.

One of the usual questions asked by those who have seen or heard the announcement of Sergio Osmeña's father's identity and read the succeeding write-ups about this topic is this: What is the point in dredging up something that many said should have been left in peace? We must understand and realize that our history is incomplete. There are many new things discovered and new information gathered every day and these can complete or change the way our history is written and taught. In the case of President Osmeña, he alone among our presidents was illegitimate and his official biographies render him without any mention of a father. That needs correcting. Not only that, his mother's name has been ignored for so long and now should also be incorporated into his life story. We must remember that Osmeña would have never become the man that he was without a mother and a father. Simply adding and recognizing the names of Antonio Sanson and Juana Osmeña to the biography of Osmeña will finally complete the information about his parentage.

This discovery of his father has also unfortunately resurrected the issue of Juana Osmeña's age when she conceived Sergio. For years, also, people have been writing and saying that Juana was just 14 (some would say 16) when she got pregnant. While pregnancy among women of such a young age was not unheard of in the nineteenth century, being 14 and now knowing that Antonio Sanson was an older man have created speculations that Osmeña's father assaulted his mother and that the act would have been considered statutory rape today. It is sad that this myth of rape of a minor continues to be told today. Research, even before the announcement last June 2nd of Osmeña's father's name has long ago shown that contrary to these claims, Juana Osmeña was already at the right age when she bore her son. The newspaper Bag-ong Kusog's May 2, 1941 coverage of her funeral indicated that when she died in 1941, she was at the ripe old age of 82. Her son and grandchildren were prominently mentioned as being part of her funeral, so we can safely assume that the newspaper's information came from her family. If she was 82 when she died in the year 1941, then she would have been born either 1858 or 1859, and since her son was born in 1878, Juana would have already been 19 or 20. Definitely not a minor.

While he lived, his political opponents made up stories about his personal life or always brought up his illegitimacy, all of which I believe helped create these other unpleasant stories (Juana being 14, Juana being raped, etc.) which, unfortunately, continues to be quoted and retold today. There will be more debates and arguments about these topics. As always, I hope that while everyone has the right to research on their own, using Wikipedia or other people's blog posts doesn’t make one always accurate. We have already proven the identity of Osmeña's father through the use of both traditional genealogical research and DNA testing. Let us continue to professionalize how we do historical research in the Philippines, and not rely on "maritessing" or believing everything on social media.

In the meantime, let us remember that Sergio Osmeña, Cebu's Grand Old Man, was the son of Antonio Sanson and Juana Osmeña, who were both from Parian, Cebu. That is now a fact.