AS Cebu City celebrated the 138th birth anniversary of the late President Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. yesterday, Mayor Tomas Osmeña encouraged the youth to become leaders at a young age like his grandfather.
In his speech yesterday, the mayor recalled the path taken by Don Sergio, who had a long and distinguished career.
At Capitol, provincial officials offered flowers to Don Sergio in a ceremony led by Gov. Hilario Davide III, with Provincial Board Member Victoria Corominas.
Corominas said that Davide encouraged public officials to follow Don Sergio as a leader and a role model.
“The statue of Don Sergio should remind us to be faithful to our duties,” she said.
Present in the ceremony were officials from different departments in Capitol.
Republic Act 6953 declared the 9th of September as a special non-working holiday in the City and Province of Cebu and a special working holiday for the rest of the country in honor of Don Sergio.
Youngest
Osmeña said that Don Sergio became a governor of the Cebu at the age of 27, the youngest leader to hold the position.
When the US allowed the Philippine Commonwealth then to have its first Philippine Assembly, now known as Congress, Osmeña said Don Sergio took advantage of the chance.
At the age of 29, he ran and became the youngest member of the first Congress.
He became the first speaker of the House of the Representatives, a feat which the mayor believes has not been repeated in the country’s history.
“I hope this would instill faith in our youth today. Many of our best leaders in the Philippines were all young from Ninoy Aquino, (Gregorio) del Pilar, Jose Rizal. Think about them. They were not old at all. They were in their 30s. Here, all our leaders are getting older and older including me,” he said.
“We should give the opportunity to inspire the younger people that it is not true that you have to be a lolo to be a leader,” he said.
With all of Don Sergio’s accomplishment at a very young age, Osmeña believes his grandfather should not be called Cebu’s Grand Old Man, rather Cebu’s Grand Young Man.
Rogelio Osmeña Jr., the great grandson of Don Sergio, spoke in behalf of the family and thanked the City Government, barangay, military and police officials and members of the civic groups for keeping alive the memory and legacy of Don Sergio every year.
He said that such occasion is a good time to reflect on what Don Sergio had done as a leader and the reason behind why he is still being revered after all these years.
“A cursory glance of the accounts of the life of Don Sergio shows him to be a man of faith, a family man, a noble public servant and a fierce leader of irreproachable integrity. He was known for his staunch effort to uphold democracy in the Philippines,” he said.
Like Don Sergio, Rogelio also said that people should not despair in their struggles. Instead, they should take it as a test of character, an opportunity to grow and help others who are in more dire circumstances.
“Today, we celebrate Don Sergio’s 138th birthday. We can’t all be old, we can’t all be man but we have it in us to be grand,” he said.
The Osmeña clan led the City Government, barangay, military and police officials, and members of the civic groups yesterday in offering flowers at Don Sergio’s marker at the corner of Lapu-Lapu St. and Osmeña Blvd. Camille Pareres, USJ-R Intern