Mandaue declares first Friday of January ‘MC Briones Day’

The Mandaue City Council declared the first Friday of every year as “MC Briones Day” to commemorate the birthday of former Senator Manuel Briones.

The council also allocated P100,000 for the event starting this year. The city council passed an amended ordinance for this purposed.

M.C. Briones Street along the national highway was named after the late senator.

Last Friday, Mayor Jonas Cortes and other city officials and department heads paid tribute to the former senator and newspaper editor for his  contributions to the country.

The event, which was also attended  by the family of Briones and other non-government organizations was highlighted a Mass and a floral offering at the Rizal-Bonifacio Memorial Stage by city officials.

Briones was born on Jan. 1, 1893 in Mandaue. At age 17, he became the editor of La Tribuna and El Espectador, a Spanish local newspaper in Cebu.

He was a lawyer and served the House of Representatives for four terms (1918-1931), representing the first district of Cebu wherein he was elected as majority floor leader.

He became senator from 1931 to 1935.  In 1951, he was again elected to the Senate and was subsequently chosen Senate President Pro Tempore up to 1957.
He also co-authored the country’s first labor law, known today as the “Workmen’s Compensation Act.”

As a congressman, Briones headed a legislative survey mission to Mindanao resulting in the construction of roads and highways.

Briones was also  part of the Philippine Independence Mission to the United States in 1930.

He was the first Cebuano to be appointed as  Supreme Court Justice and was part of the Committee of Wise Men who drafted  the Philippine Constitution. He was also the principal sponsor of Republic Act 1161 or the “Social Security Act of 1954,” known today as the Social Security System.

During the ceremony, Cortes said he admired Briones for being great in most of the opportunities given to him. Cortes encouraged the people to take inspiration from the senator and do their part in nation building. /REPORTER JUCELL MARIE P. CUYOS