On reclamation and remedy Mandaue’s first recla

This is in relation to an article published in The FREEMAN re: Life Irony of Mr. Marco Ouano Toral and I would like to enlighten our readers with documentary evidence as a case of public interest - notably donated lots at Mandaue's first reclamation area.

Without malice and offense, Mr. Ernesto C. Ouano was authorized by the Mandaue City Council in the early 70's (when my father was a city councilor) to reclaim the coastal areas of Looc, Mandaue City, up to the old "tulay" involving more or less 100 hectares.

A sharing scheme was formulated, duly approved by both parties; with Mandaue City getting 25 percent and 75 percent to the developer.

Parties had delicadeza to share prime lots and visibly now stands; Mandaue District Hospital, Sports Complex, Fire Department and Engineering building with wide cemented roads for communal use.

That on Oct. 7 1975, a Mandaue City Council Res. No. 173 was passed "authorizing City Mayor Demetrio M. Cortes to execute a partition agreement with Mr. Ernesto C. Ouano Sr. of two lots reclaimed by him" where the city jail now stands is part of the 25 percent share in Lot A containing an area of 8,613 square meters belong to BIR which had remained unused after 17 years donated by the city.

The remaining 7,613 square meters is registered in the names of Mandaue City with Title No. 37323 and we can safely assume that where government buildings stand are never donated lots.

History would tell us that the late Mr. Ernesto C. Ouano Sr. and his family are philanthropists for he never declined his God-given talents and financial resources - from the sea he loved so much that kept him afloat.

He helped spur economic activity being a foremost developer and sometimes we can ask when can Mandaue City recognize his good deeds and mental calculations what is Mandaue today connecting to Mactan Island through the sea in his vision of a lifetime.

Get the medicine: The diseases of society

Our society is ill. It is plagued by diseases that ruin its functions. It is bedridden, just waiting for its time to lie down in a casket and say goodbye to the world it knew. Just whose fault is it? Whose fault is it that society is in such a state? The answer is, sad but true, the ones who make up society itself.

Society is made up of people working together, sharing the same ideas, cultures, and whatnot. Society is made stable by its principles, institutions, and the common goal that drives it to perform optimally. Society is alive for it evolves, changes, and adapts as its members change as well. Therefore, when there is something wrong with society, it is in one of these components where we can find the problem.

Most members of the society are in disarray. "United," we may be, but can we really say this when our values teach us not to fully trust a person? We live in times when trust is less and less shown, until we trust no one altogether. The members of society are indifferent towards one another, and this clogs their way to progress. It may not seem that bad, but being vital to the society, a setback to the unity of the members of society, like social indifference, may push society on its back.

Another thing that haunts our society today is the growing number of people who should be the ones serving our society, but instead, use the power they have for their own personal gain. They get heaps of fortune at the expense of the rest of the members of the society. How does the society perform its functions when one of its organs, the social institutions, is working in disorder? It is hard, if not impossible, for society to progress when it experiences such corruption.

So, what can we do to fix society? What can we, the members of society, do to get society up and running again? Simple. We change our ways. We must purge the social institutions of its pests. We must learn to trust again, and in turn, be trustworthy. It is only after we overcome these problems that society may prosper.

Nichole Anne S. Flores

BS Psychology

University of San Carlos-Talamban Campus

Clarence Paul Oaminal

J. Climaco Street, Cebu City

It is the street that intersects Magallanes, Dimasalang, Colon and Borromeo. It is parallel to the streets of Leon Kilat and Panganiban. It is situated at the back of Cebu Eastern College (formerly Cebu Chinese High School).

J. Climaco Street named after "Juan Faller Climaco" should be distinguished from A. Climaco Street. (formerly Orchid St.) located in Capitol Site. A. (Arsenio) Climaco Street is named after his grandson who like him also became Governor of Cebu.

Juan Climaco, also known as "Tan Hantoy", was called the "brains of the resistance". Before the outbreak of the Cebuano revolt against Spain in 1898 he was Capitan Municipal of Toledo. His family was one of the wealthiest in the entire province. He married Maria Regina Ramas.  

He was appointed by Luis Flores, as Chief of Staff of War Preparations. He had the rank of general during the Spanish and American Revolt. Climaco, with Gen. Arcadio Maxilom, refused to surrender to the Americans when they arrived in Cebu on 1899.

On February 21, 1899 after the Spaniards left Cebu, he with Pablo Mejia, Julio Llorente, Segundo Sison, Fr. Pablo Singson, Bishop Juan Gorordo signed a protest against the American Occupation.

The KKK-Cebu surrendered to the Americans on September 26, 1901 and he joined the call for democratic reforms under the Americans.

He was the First Elected Governor of Cebu from March 1902. In the first elections in Cebu he defeated the incumbent (appointed by the Americans) Governor Julio Llorente. He was reelected as Governor on February 4, 1904 defeating Alejandro Ruiz of Argao, Cebu.  Don Juan Faller Climaco died on July 16, 1907 at the age of 47.

Before the election of 1907, he was chosen as candidate representing the 6th District, but he was replaced by Casiano Causin after he died. Don Juan would have been the first elected congressman of the Old 6th District of Cebu had he not died.

But the imprint of his leadership still continues, as it was during his governorship that the Cebu-Toledo road was constructed.