Labella wants holiday to mark Serging's birthday

CEBU City Mayor Edgardo Labella wants Reps. Rodrigo Abellanosa and Raul del Mar to enact a law that would declare Dec. 4, the birth anniversary of the late senator Sergio Osmeña Jr., as a special holiday in the city.

Labella said this would be in honor of Osmeña, whose contributions to the economy and infrastructure in the city are immeasurable. The city celebrated his 103rd birth anniversary on Dec. 4, 2019.

“The purpose is to give the next generation and generation to come to be fully aware that at one point, there was a Cebuano who made a difference in the lives of the Cebuanos with the construction of the North Reclamation project, with the bridge connecting Mactan Cebu and for having conceptualized the Mactan Cebu International Airport,” Labella said.

Labella said that Cebu City used to have only a small airport in Barangay Lahug but Sen. Osmeña foresaw the need for a major airport in Mactan and its impact on the province.

“He already thought ahead of his time. That there was going to be a time that the jumbo jets will replace the propeller type and these need a longer runway and the best place was Mactan,” said Labella.

Labella, who defeated Tomas Osmeña, the son of the late senator, in the last election, said the late Osmeña, who was also a former governor, already planned for the future while he was still in office.

“At that time, even his political opponents even branded him as the like of a Man of la Mancha, dreaming the impossible dream. But he was able to make it. Although the Mandaue-Mactan bridge and the airport were established during the time of former President Ferdinand Marcos, it was Serging Osmeña Jr. who conceptualized it.

Rep. Abellanosa said he was supportive of Labella’s plan and vowed to study it along with Rep. Del Mar.

“I am 100 supportive and I will do that. We can’t recall the other major contributions Serging had for Cebu and we will look into that. I will lead this and I will discuss this with Congressman Raul V. Del Mar,” said Abellanosa. (PAC)