Osmeña Day in Cebu Date in the current year: September 9, 2024

Sergio Osmeña Sr. was born on September 9, 1878 in the municipality of Cebu in the eponymous province. Both of his parents were of Chinese Filipino heritage. Osmeña’s father, Don Antonio Sanson, was a wealthy landowner and businessman, but since Sergio was an illegitimate child, he had his mother’s last name. Sanson’s paternity was officially confirmed in 2023 by a DNA test.

Upon graduating from high school, Osmeña studied in San Juan de Letran College in Manila, where he got acquainted with future revolutionaries Manuel L. Quezon, Emilio Jacinto, and Juan Sumulong. He continued his studies at the University of Santo Tomas, where he took up law. While studying, Osmeña served on General Emilio Aguinaldo’s Staff and ran the newspaper El Nuevo Día. In 1903, he passed the bar examination.

When Cebu governor Juan Climaco was invited to serve on the Board of Commissioners of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World’s Fair) in 1903, Osmeña was appointed acting governor until Climaco’s return from the United States. This launched his political career.

Osmeña was elected governor of Cebu in 1906 and successfully ran for a seat in the Philippine Assembly (the lower house of the national parliament) the next year. Moreover, Osmeña became the first speaker of the assembly, making him the highest-ranking Filipino official at just 29 years old. Together with Manuel L. Quezon, Osmeña founded the Nacionalista Party that advocated self-rule for the Philippines and was a foil to the Federalista Party led by Manila-based politicians. In 1922, he was elected to the Senate (the upper house of the parliament).

In 1933, the Nacionalista Party was split between the Osmeña and Quezon factions because the two leaders disagreed on the specifics of Philippine independence from the United States. However, the two reunited before the 1935 presidential election; Quezon was nominated for president, and Osmeña became his running mate.

They won the election, were inaugurated as president and vice president, respectively, and served for two terms. During their second term, Quezon and Osmeña established and headed the government in exile since the country was occupied by Japan. Quezon died of tuberculosis on August 1, 1944, and Osmeña succeeded him as president of the Philippines.

Several months into his presidency, Osmeña returned to the Philippines, accompanying the liberation forces led by General Douglas MacArthur. After the liberation of the Philippines, he worked on restoring and reorganizing the government, and led relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction efforts.

Osmeña ran for a full term in the 1946 presidential election but was defeated by Senator Manuel Roxas representing the Liberal Party that had broken from Osmeña’s Nacionalista Party. After his defeat, Osmeña retired from politics and spent the rest of his life in Cebu City. He died of pulmonary edema in 1961, aged 83.

In 1990, Osmeña’s birthday was designated as a special non-working holiday in his home province of Cebu.