Felipe Pacana Street, Cebu City

Felipe Pacana Street is the street which is a portion of F. Llamas Street from the corner of Tres de Abril Street to the corner of Katipunan Street.

Felipe Pacana was the son of Jacinto Pacana, who was Capitan of San Nicolas District. He was one of the first few recruits of Leon Kilat (Pantaleon Villegas) when the Katipunan-Cebu was organized in 1898.

Capitan Jacinto, who was already of advanced age and a former capitan of San Nicolas supported the first battle in the uprising against the Spaniards on April 3, 1898.

When the Spaniards who at first appeared to have lost the battle had reinforcements and the tides turned against the revolutionaries, Jacinto Pacana sought refuge in the mountains of Cebu City. Felipe Pacana and his brother, Dalmacio accompanied their father. It was Felipe Pacana who carried the wounded KKK warrior Eugenio Gines.

The Pacana's owned large tracts of land and the support of Jacinto Pacana to the cause of Leon Kilat was the reason why leading citizens joined the KKK in Cebu. It was Felipe Pacana who continued the crusade for independence of his father. Felipe, after waging guerilla warfare to the Spaniards and later with the Americans who occupied Cebu came down from the mountains.

Felipe Pacana after laying down his arms with the rank of commander embraced the principles of democracy espoused by the Americans. When Cebu was converted into a city in 1937, President Manuel L. Quezon appointed Felipe as city councilor of the municipal board of Cebu City.

Months later, Felipe Pacana ran for election on December 14, 1937 for city councilor. Felipe won in the first election after the cityhood of Cebu. His co-councilors were Regino Mercado, Jose P. Nolasco, Dr. Leandro Tojong, Juan Zamora, Jose Solon, Jose Fortich, and Dominador Abella.

City Councilor Pablo U. Abella, who sponsored the street naming ordinance, said of Felipe Pacana: "it was with great distinction that he served the City of Cebu by helping his fellow Cebuanos with industry, honesty, and sense of purpose".

In Cebu City, a member of the Pacana was elected councilor and held office for three terms. Dr. Arsenio Pacana, who became consultant of the city after serving the city as councilor was also principal of the Cebu Institute of Technology (now CITU) High School Department. Arsenio is also an active lay leader of the Catholic Church.

Other members of the Pacana clan also served the government outside of Cebu. There was Atty. Pedro A. Pacana (admitted to the Bar on January 28, 1952, with Caibiran, Leyte as his hometown) who served as Secretary of the Provincial Board of Misamis and later as board member of Leyte. There was also Teofilo Pacana who became a member of the municipal council of San Isidro, Leyte.

The other members of the council that approved the street naming ordinance (City Ordinance No. 701) Florencio S. Urot, Raymundo A. Crsytal, Bienvenido B. Tudtud, Arturo L. Abellana, Caridad A. Trocino, Jose V. Arias, Pablo U. Abella, Jose L. Rodriguez, and Jesus S. Gabuya. The ordinance was approved by Mayor Eulogio Enriquez Borres on January 14, 1971.