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Filemon Sotto

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Sotto and the second or maternal family name is Yapsutco.
Filemón Sotto
Senator of the Philippines from the 10th district
In office
October 16, 1916 – June 6, 1922
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded bySergio Osmeña
Member of the Philippine Assembly from Cebu's 3rd district
In office
1907–1916
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded byVicente Urgello (as representative)
Member of the 1934 Constitutional Convention
In office
July 30, 1934 – February 8, 1935
Municipal Vice President of Cebu
In office
1903–1905
Municipal PresidentFlorentino Rallos
Preceded byAgapito Hilario
Succeeded byLuciano Bacayo
Personal details
Born
Filemon Sotto é Yapsutco

(1872-11-22)November 22, 1872
Cebu, Cebu, Captaincy General of the Philippines
DiedOctober 10, 1966(1966-10-10) (aged 93)
Cebu City, Philippines
NationalityPhilippine, formerly Spanish
Political partyNacionalista
Other political
affiliations		Popular Front (1941)
SpouseCarmen Rallos Fadullón
Domestic partner(s)Remedios Duterte Martínez, María Barcelona, Jovita Butalid
RelationsVicente Sotto (brother)
Alma mater
Profession
  • Lawyer
  • Publisher

Filemón Sotto (Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈsɔtɔ]; November 22, 1872 – October 10, 1966) was a Filipino Visayan lawyer, legislator, and politician from Cebu, Philippines. He was a newspaper publisher and founded the periodicals El Imperial, Ang Kaluwasan, La Opinion, and La Revolucion. He served as member of Cebu municipal board, congressman of Cebu's 3rd district for the Philippine Assembly (1907–1916), senator of the Philippine Legislature (1916–1922), delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Convention, and delegate to the Institute of National Language (1937).

Early life

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Filemon Yap Sotto was born in Cebu, Philippines on November 22, 1872.[1] The son of Marcelino Antonio Sotto y Legaspi of Binondo, Manila and Pascuala Yap y Sutco of Binondo, Manila, he was the elder brother of former Senator Vicente Sotto. He acquired a bachelor's degree from Colegio de San Carlos[2] and later attended San Juan de Letran College and the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, where he graduated with a law degree and passed the bar examinations in 1905.[3] Musically-minded, he played guitar, violin, and violoncello.[2]

Personal life

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In 1909, Filemon had a son with Cebuana beauty queen Remedios Duterte, but the child didn't survive. They bore another child, Pascuala Sotto, who was named after his mother and born on February 9, 1913. The couple separated ways. He married Carmen Rallos, continued to look after the welfare of Pascuala, paying for her education and needs, and even extended his generosity to her children.

During World War II, Filemon escaped to Carmen, Cebu with his family. When the war ended, he settled in Cebu City in a house constructed along V. Ranudo Street and when the property was sold, his family relocated to Lahug.[4]

Career

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In 1903, he was voted as member and became vice president of the municipal board of Cebu.[5] He was then appointed as fiscal for Negros Occidental and assistant fiscal for Cebu.[3]

Newspapers

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Aside from politics, Filemon published and edited periodicals such as La Revolucion, which saw its first print on August 5, 1910, and went in circulation until 1941.[1] He also founded and published the newspapers El Imperial,[3] Ang Kaluwasan, which was first printed in 1902,[6] and La Opinion.[3]

Philippine Assembly

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In 1907, he was elected representative to the Philippine Assembly for Cebu's 3rd district. He served in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Philippine Legislature until 1916.[7] Through the influence of the members of the Asociacion Feminista Ilonga (Feminist Association of Ilongo) that was formed by Pura Villanueva-Kalaw in 1906, he sponsored the first bill that would allow women the right of suffrage.[8] It was not until 1936 that Filipino women were granted the right to vote under the administration of President Manuel L. Quezon.[9]

Senate

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From 1916 until 1922, he was elected senator for two terms, serving together with Celestino Rodriguez in the Fourth Legislature and Fifth Legislature for Cebu, which was the 10th senatorial district. At that time, the Philippines was split into 12 senatorial districts, with each district voting two senators.[10]

Constitutional Convention

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By 1934, when the United States Congress approved the Philippine Independence Act which would pave the way for the creation of the Philippine Constitution,[11] Filemon was elected as delegate to the Constitutional Convention.[10] On October 9, 1934, he was appointed[1] and became chairman of the group called Seven Wise Men that included Conrado Benitez Manuel C. Briones, Manuel Roxas, Miguel Cuaderno, Norberto Romualdez, and Vicente Singson Encarnacion,[12] who had significant contribution to the draft of the 1935 Constitution.[11] He submitted the first draft to the convention on November 6, 1934.[1]

Institute of National Language

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On January 12, 1937, he was appointed as delegate of the Institute of National Language, which was created by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 184, by then President Manuel L. Quezon.[1] The government body, the first of its kind, was tasked to develop the Philippine national language.[13]

Later years

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On November 25, 1960, Pascuala would later petition the courts to recognize her as natural child of Filemon, and the Supreme Court decided in her favor on July 15, 1968.[4] Filemon died in Cebu City on October 10, 1966.[2]

Historical commemoration

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  • Don Filemon Sotto Drive, which starts from Gorordo Avenue to Maxilom Avenue, in Cebu City was named in his honor by virtue of City Ordinance No. 1123.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Mojares, Resil B. (n.d.). Today in the History of Cebu (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019 – via University of San Carlos.
  2. ^ a b c Tinga, Pablo S. (2009). Cebu: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Cebu City: Saint Jude Book Publisher. ISBN 9789710553150.
  3. ^ a b c d "Filemon Sotto". Senate of the Philippines. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  4. ^ a b G.R. No. L-21175. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019 – via The Lawphil Project.
  5. ^ Oaminal, Clarence Paul (April 27, 2018). "Don Filemon Yap Sotto and Remedios Duterte". Cebupedia. The Freeman. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  6. ^ Oaminal, Clarence Paul (March 9, 2018). "Don Filemon Sotto's "La Revolucion"". Cebupedia. The Freeman. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  7. ^ "Roster of Philippine Legislators". House of Representatives. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  8. ^ Angeles, Leonora C. (February 22, 2012). "Philippines Suffragist Movement". Women Suffrage and Beyond. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  9. ^ Davis, Leonard (1989). Revolutionary Struggle in the Philippines. Basingstoke: Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-349-19864-1.
  10. ^ a b c Oaminal, Clarence Paul (March 21, 2014). "Filemon Sotto Drive, Cebu City". Cebupedia. The Freeman. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via PressReader.
  11. ^ a b "Constitution Day". Official Gazette. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "Today in Philippine History, July 10, 1934, the Filipino voters elected delegates to a constitutional convention". The Kahimyang Project. July 9, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  13. ^ Medina, Marielle (January 10, 2014). "Did You know: Institute of National Language". Inquirer.net. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
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