Inclusion of Vicente Rama’s life in Cebu history books pushed

Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia, who heads the city’s Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission (CHAC), is pushing on the inclusion of the Cebuano history including the life and works of Don Vicente Rama, who is considered the father of Cebu City.

This rich Cebuano history, of course, includes Don Vicente, the grandfather of Mayor Michael Rama.

“Mao na makaingon ko usahay ‘basi’g paryente nako si Don Vicente Rama.’ Ngano man? Tan-awa ang iyang passion, he was into writing, unya ang among pamilya writing baya kay SunStar (newspaper) baya mi, di ba?” Garcia said.

He went on to say that Don Vicente was a pioneer in the field of Cebuano journalism and literature.

“He (Vicente Rama) also wrote fiction, he wrote poems, he wrote short stories, he wrote novels. Why am I pointing this out is because ang atong mga batan-on karon, ang atong mga anak, wala na kaayo silay idea on Cebuano history, (and) who he was,” said Garcia.

Aside from that, Rama wrote Bag-ong Kusog which he also related to their family’s political group.

“Unya ang iyang gisuwat, ‘Ang Bag-ong Kusog.’ Unya ang akong amahan nagtukod og partido ang pangan ‘Kusug’. Basin ako ning paryente si Don Vicente Rama dah,” added Garcia.

Rama, for his part, vowed to continue fighting for what is right for the city of Cebu, just like what his grandfather did before.

The mayor, on several occasions, had been emphasizing that his grandfather singlehandedly fought for the cityhood of Cebu.

“Ang utok sa among lolo futuristic, ngilngig kaayo’g foresight, visionary. Mao na si Don Vicente Rama. Mao na ako, inig-abot sa Charter Day, di gyud mahimo nga daugdaogon ang siyudad sa Sugbo. Barugan ug pakamatyan ni Mayor Mike Rama ang siyudad sa Sugbo,” Rama said.

At present, Rama is steering the city to be Singapore-like, not only with big infrastructure plans but in instilling discipline among the Cebuanos starting from their respective homes to offices. —