On Feb. 24, 1937, or 76 years ago today, Elpidio Quirino, secretary of the Interior, formally inaugurated Cebu as the third city of the Philippines, after Manila (1571) and Baguio (1909).
Standing on behalf of Pres. Manuel Quezon who had fallen ill the day before, Quirino read Quezon’s declaration of February 24 as Cebu City Charter Day thenceforth.
After the formal reading, he administered the oath to the city council composed of former governor Manuel Roa, Dr. Leandro Tojong, Jose P. Nolasco, Domindor Abella, Diego Cañizares, Regino Mercado, Jose Fortich and Felipe Pacaña.
Former treasurer Alfredo Jacinto, who was appointed by Quezon as Cebu’s first city mayor, was administered the oath earlier in Manila.
It was he who welcomed Rama and 14 governors and other dignitaries who had come to witness the occasion.
Also on hand was, surprisingly, the leading opposition to cityhood, Nicolas Rafols.
After the formal inauguration ceremony, the city council then convened to elect a presiding officer. Manuel Roa soon clashed with Jose P. Nolasco for the position.
’Cebuana Noche Buena’
For three more session days, no presiding officer could be elected from among the two until Nolasco finally gave in
The charter’s journey began in 1931, when the Cebu’s municipal president (today’s mayor) Fructuous Ramos, signed a resolution authored by councilor Gervasio Lavilles, requesting the Philippine Legislature to pass a city charter for Cebu.
It took five more years before the matter was finally taken up, this time under the Philippine Assembly, the legislative arm of the recently inaugurated Philippine Commonwealth.
On Aug. 5, 1936, Assemblyman (later, Senator) Vicente Rama filed Bill No. 3360 to create a special city charter for Cebu.
Alas, the charter would not go through a smooth ride as two of Rama’s fellow Cebuanos, assemblymen Rafols and Hilario Abellana, rose to express their opposition to the bill when debates opened on the night of October 1.
That fateful evening was aptly dubbed the “Cebuana Noche Buena”, according to the Bag-ong Kusog issue of Jan. 15, 1937, because no other item was on the agenda.
Cebu’s fate was clearly foremost on everyone’s mind as Rama slugged it out with Rafols and Abellana in the nights that followed.
Amendments
It must have been painful for Rama to see Rafols on the other side of the aisle: they were the original pillars of the opposition Partido Democrata during its heyday in the 1920s.
After seven nights of debate, as dawn beckoned on Oct. 9, 1936, with 65 assemblymen for and three against, the bill was passed.
Eleven days later, on October 20, a beaming Rama stood beside fellow Cebuano assemblymen Mariano Jesus Cuenco, Agustin Kintanar and Celestino Rodriguez together with other officials as Quezon signed Commonwealth Act No. 58 creating Cebu City.
It would seem that the journey of the Cebu City charter had finally reached its climax.
Unbeknownst to Rama, however, Assemblyman Gregorio Perfecto of the North District of Manila had filed an amendment of the whole in a last ditch attempt to derail Cebu’s cityhood, even after Quezon had signed it into law already.
Members of the National Assembly had been given the impression that Perfecto had the nod of both Rama and Pres. Quezon.
When Rama learned about it, it was too late as the National Assembly had passed an amended charter.
Fortunately, on November 20, President Quezon promptly vetoed the amendments to the charter. The stage was now set to formally inaugurate Cebu City.
Initially scheduled on January 18, 1937, pressing matters in Manila forced a postponement.
The inauguration was finally carried out on Feb. 24, 1937.