On Cebu City Charter Day; War vet, lawyer to get posthumous award

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City government will confer posthumous award to two individuals who contributed to the city’s history come Charter Day on February 24.

The Cebu City Council passed a resolution conferring posthumous awards to the late Col. Manuel Segura and late lawyer Esperanza Valenzona

Segura, who died last November at the age of 95, was a war veteran who helped liberate Cebu from the Japanese during World War II. He authored, “Tabunan: The Untold Story of the Famed Cebu Guerillas of World War II,” and “The Koga Papers.”

Valenzona, who was 96 years old when she died January this year, was the founder of the Share-A-Child Movement, a non-government organization that helped poor and defenseless children back in the 1980s and set up community libraries.

The city government will also award eight other “outstanding” individuals and institutions who have given remarkable contributions to the city’s growth and development.

These include the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. for Humanitarian Service; Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary for Environment; and the University of the Visayas Chorale for Culture and Arts.

Also named awardees under outstanding individual category are lawyer Augustus Go for Education and Philanthropy; Francis Monera for Business and Industry; Resil Mojares for Journalism; and Capt. Vicente Sejoco for Military Service.

The City’s Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), which formulates the guidelines in selecting awardees, determined Segura and Valenzona and the rest of the awardees.

In conferring the award, resolution authors, Councilors Hanz Abella and Lea Japson cited City Ordinance No. 1487, entitled “An ordinance to give annual citations and awards to outstanding individuals, organizations, companies, firms, or corporations who have contributed to the growth and development of the City of Cebu to be given during the celebration of the Cebu City Charter Day Anniversary.”

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said the naming of the awardees is still subject to change.

“Basin naa’y changes; nothing is final. Ang mayor ang mo-sign ana,” he said yesterday.

Rama further said that the awardees would only be final until their names appear in the plaques, newspaper print ads, and receive invitation from the City Hall. — (FREEMAN)