The search for the 75 Families of Distinction of Cebu City, who were recognized on Feb. 24, 2012, the 75th Anniversary of the Charter of Cebu City, has become more significant with monthly activities. These include a photo exhibit, a memorial lecture or presentation of each family’s contributions to the City, a one-day Laag-laag sa Sugbo eco-tour, and an evening of cultural presentations at the Plaza Independencia which take place every third weekend of the month.
The first day (Friday) focuses on the photo exhibit and the memorial lecture. On the second day (Saturday), families bond together as they go on an eco-tour of the city; and on the third day (Sunday), the families are treated with an evening of cultural presentations by host universities.
The 75 families have been clustered (by drawing of lots) into seven and eight families for each month starting March until January 2013. For the photo exhibit, each family had to dig from the family collections of pictures, stories of their clan’s origin and contributions of prominent clan members. The photo exhibit is displayed in the university that hosts the memorial lecture of the month. After a week, the exhibit goes to the Ayala Center, then moves to SM for another week. Each month, two departments of City Hall partner with the host universities in the mounting and moving of the photo exhibits.
For the memorial lecture, a clan representative presents their contributions through narratives or videos. A few families discovered that they were related to some revolutionaries of Cebu. Some found their lost relatives, others reconciled with estranged kin. For the Laag-laag sa Sugbo, the families are brought to Cebu’s past, present, and future. They get to visit the butterfly museum, the famous blacksmith of Cebu City, the Chapel of Relics in Tabor Hill, and a trash-to-cash enterprise. They also get to visit heritage sites riding a tartanilla.
One great thought shared by Fr. Carmelo Diola whose family was honored last April 20 at Cebu Normal University is worth pondering. In a text message during the ceremonies, he said, “The fabric of our life as a body politic—the city of Cebu, in this instance—is made up of the threads of individual lives sewn into the pattern of family life clustered into clans. STRENGTHEN THE FAMILY AND YOU STRENGTHEN THE CITY. (Capitalization is mine.) Thank you for making it possible.”
With the revelations at the lecture and the photo exhibits, some personages need to be researched to fill in gaps in the history of Cebu. For example, the biography of Florencio Gonzales, whose execution in April 1898 hastened Tres de Abril and the colorful biographies of the four Tabal brothers (who were honored last April 20) of the mountain barangays of Cebu City who were active in the colonial resistance against the Spanish, American and Japanese up to the Marcos dictatorship. On the heritage side, there is a need to document the contributions of the blacksmiths of Basak, Pardo, the tartanilla makers of Sawang Calero, narratives about composers of popular Cebuano songs like “Usahay” by Nitoy Gonzales of the Gonzales clan who were also honored last April 20. This is one occasion for the writing of family histories. With the coming school year, English teachers and history teachers, have a many interesting topics to discuss and assign the class. Some lecture inputs could be featured in local dailies or aired over the radio and television for the emulation of good practices and appreciation of local contributions to development. All these help develop pride of place.
In the press conference with the April families, which included the Sottos, Jacas, Seguras, Garces-Gorordos, it was suggested that a corner should be set up for Vicente Sotto, father of Cebuano Journalism, Language and Literature at the Gallery of Journalists in Museo Sugbo. This week, the Jacas (most of whom are eye doctors) held a medical mission with free cataract surgeries for the first 100 applicants at Chong Hua Hospital. On Earth Day, April 22, May Segura-Ybañez, whose Segura clan was also honored on April 20, invited the families and the Diamond Core Group to barangay Tabunan, the last rain forest of Cebu City. May Segura who heads the group protecting and conserving the Tabunan forest introduced us to the Tabunan wardens who work round the clock to protect the remaining 13 species of animals that have been extinct in other parts of the world, and 13 plant species that thrive only in Tabunan. Residents planted 100 cinnamon trees and they are targeting 1,000 more this year. Incidentally, Tabunan was the stronghold of Cebuano guerillas with the aid of American soldiers against the Japanese troops in World WarII. The famous leader of the guerillas was Col. Manuel Segura who wrote two books about his experiences in WW II—Tabunan (which is out of print), and the Koga Papers—which are very good sources for a study on the World War II experience of Cebuanos. We hope Tabunan will be reprinted very soon, and the Koga Papers be disseminated more seriously.
There is so much to learn from the families’ contributions. So far, we have heard only eleven of them. There are 64 four more families to learn about. Through these families, we get to know more about Cebu City. This only confirms what Fr. Diola said: “Strengthen the family and you strengthen the city.”