Remembering ‘Nanoy’

THE BUST of Potenciano Ilusorio. EV ESPIRITU

To the larger public, the late lawyer Potenciano “Nanoy” Ilusorio was simply the millionaire at the center of a family feud that lasted even after his death in 2001.

But the feud overshadowed some of Ilusorio’s finest legacies, which author Jullie Yap-Daza has now compiled in a book of narratives by Baguio oldtimers about the man who helped build the city’s famous landmark, Baguio Country Club (BCC).

The book of Ilusorio stories will be launched on Dec. 29, two weeks after the long-time BCC president and chair turned 100 years old.

Born in San Ildefonso, Bulacan, on Dec. 15, 1912, Ilusorio took up law at the University of the Philippines and served as the University Student Council chair.

He passed the bar in 1936 and took up taxation and business courses in New York before he founded and organized the Philippine Communications Satellite Corp. (Philcomsat), making him a telecommunications industry pioneer in the country.

In 1972, Ilusorio was elected president of BCC, where he expressed his patriotic convictions.

Virginia Benitez Licuanan, author of the book, “Filipinos and Americans—A Love-Hate Relationship,” had narrated how Ilusorio reacted with indignation when he chanced upon a sign at the club premises which read: “Natives and dogs not allowed.”

Ilusorio helped introduce club policies that protected Filipinos and Cordillerans against American discrimination.

The only member to be named BCC president emeritus and “chairman for life,” Ilusorio was also credited for rebuilding parts of the club after the 1990 Luzon earthquake and a fire later that year.

Ilusorio was laid to rest at a crypt in the Baguio Cathedral. His bust now stands at a park on a road leading to the BCC, which the city government renamed “Nanoy Ilusorio Drive.” Inquirer Northern Luzon