September 9 2017 declared holiday in Cebu – Sergio Osmeña Day
Filipinos nationwide will mark the 139th birth anniversary of the late former President Sergio Osmeña Sr. this September 9. Osmeña Day falls on a Saturday this year.
It is a special non-working holiday in the province of Cebu and its component cities as mandated by Republic Act (RA) 6953, which was signed into law by then-President Corazon Aquino in May 1990. Cebu is the home province of Osmeña. Meanwhile, it is going to be a special working holiday in the rest of the country.
Osmeña served as President of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was the first of three Visayans to assume the country’s presidency – the other two being Manuel Roxas and Carlos P. Garcia. He ascended to the presidency when Manuel Quezon died of tuberculosis. His tenure ended in 1946 following his loss to Manuel Roxas in that year’s elections.
Since then, other members of the Osmeña clan were also able to establish their respective political careers at the national and local levels. Sergio Osmeña II or “Serging” served as a senator before launching his own unsuccessful presidential bid against incumbent Ferdinand Marcos in 1969.
Sergio Osmeña III, for his part, served three non-consecutive terms in the Senate prior to his unexpected defeat in last year’s senatorial race. His younger brother Tomas is the mayor of Cebu City once again after winning over Mike Rama last year (he had previously served as mayor from 2001 to 2010).
Another prominent politician from the Osmeña family is former Senator John Osmeña as well as former Cebu Governor Lito Osmena, who failed in his vice presidential and presidential bids in 1992 and 1998, respectively.
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