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( MARCH 1997 -14e CIL.014)m
Cabatuan honors local hero The Glow 11
The Municipality of Cabatuan honored the late Senator Tomas V. Confesor, a local hero on his 107th birth anniversary on March 2.
At 7:00 a.m., a requiem Mass was held at the parish church. It was officiated by Fr. Amadeo Escafian, the parish priest. The Mass was followed by a program held at the monument of the late Senator Confesor in the town plaza.
During the program, there was floral offering participated in by governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. Present to offer flowers to the "Stoney Petrel of Philippine Congress" were the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Local Government Units, Ramon Tabiana Memorial District Hospital, District of Cabatuan I, District of Cabatuan 11, Cabatuan National Comprehensive High School, National Tobacco Administration, Liga Ng Mga Barangay, and Sangguniang Kabataan. The non-governmental organizations in town were represented by the Rural Bank of Cabatuan, Retired Teachers Association, and Cabatuan Development Foundation, Inc.
The program was highlighted by the distribution of gifts to indigent people in town. The gift-giving activity was undertaken by the District Association of Lay Leaders of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines, headed by Dr. Zelpha Caspe-Carmelo, D.M.D.
At 10:00 a.m., the crowd that attended the program proceeded to barangay Maraguit, some three kilometers north of the poblacion, for another floral offering in the birth marker of Senator Confesor. The activity was spearheaded primarily by the local Boy Scouts and scouters.
It should be recalled that the late Senator Tomas V. Confesor, as a lawmaker, authored Republic Act III which created the charter of the Boy Scouts of the Philippine, thus making it independent from the Boy Scouts of the United Sates of America. He also authored the Cooperative Marketing Law of the Philippines.
Tomas V. Confesor, a distinguished Filipino patriot, gallant hero, prominent statesman, economist, and one of the great parliamentarians, was born in Cabatuan on March 2, 1891. His father "Maestro" Julian Confesor, then vice president of the president of the town, was executed by the American military government on June 5, 1901 because of his revolutionary activities. His mother, Prospers Valenzuela, died a few years later, thus making hire an orphan to carve a career of his own. This explains in a way why Tomas Confesor grew to be such an indomitable fighter.
TOMAS V. CONFESOR
His first battle was with poverty as he struggled through high school and college. However, he finished the secondary course among the first graduates of Iloilo High School in 1908, together with his brother Valentin who was the class valedictorian. Meanwhile he taught in Cabatuan Elementary School before lie went to the United States of America to continue his studies. In the "land of opportunities" he scrubbed floors, washed dishes, and dusted window panes. He finished the degree of Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Major in Economics, from the University of California in 1914, and graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago.
Returning to the Philippines in 1916, he served the government as a public school teacher, supervising teacher, instructor and associate professor in the University of the Philippines. For some time, he was dean of the College of Business Administration• of the University of Manila.
Tomas Confesor's more serious public life began when he was elected to the House of Representatives in the Philippine Legislature as representative of the third district of Iloilo for three consecutive terns from 1922 to 1913. As a member of the law-making body, he earned the epithet "Stormy Petrel", making his peers in the legislature vigilant to what should be best for the people. He rode on many a storm of debates and piled victory in his crusade against corruption and social injustices.
However, the best accomplishment of Confesor was the cooperative movement. He gave it a big boost when he sponsored and secured approval of Republic Act 3425, better known as the Cooperative Marketing Law.
In 1946, he was elected to the Senate fora tern of 6 years, which position he held until his death on June 6, 1951.
He was married to Rosalina Grecia of Jaro, Iloilo City.
The occurrence of fire in Cabatuan may not be a serious threat anymore as it was before with the acquisition recently by the town of a fire truck.
The fire truck, costing P620,000, was purchased from the countryside development funds (CDF) of Cong. Licurgo P. Tirador of the third district of Iloilo. The truck is stationed in a garage beside the local Philippine National Police station.
According to Mayor Eliseo C. Tobias, in case of emergency, the fire truck will be manned by volunteer "firemen": members of Civilian Volunteers Organization.
Mayor Tobias said that Cong. Tirador actually appropriated P1.3 million from his CDF for the purchase of a fire truck for Cabatuan. However, the municipal government, after facilitating the purchase of a fire truck, had a savings of P680,000. With the permission of Cong. Tirador, the savings of P680,000 will be realigned for the construction of a new stage near the covered gym in the town plaza.
The covered gym is one of the pet projects of Cong. Tirador in Cabatuan.
7 hurdle DOST
exam
Seven graduating students of the school passed the scholarship examination given by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The DOST-sponsored scholarship examination had two categories: Program A or the Municipal Science and Technology Scholarships, and Program B or the National Science and Technology Scholarships.
Qualified under Program A were Beulah Grace Portillo, Aldrin Acaba, Juvi Caballero, Sophia Beba, Fatima Ordoyo, Oliver Pallada, and Rosalie Jordan.
Portillo and Acaba qualified to pursue Bachelor courses prescribed by DOST in colleges and universities accredited by DOST.
The other passers can pursue technical courses prescribed by DOST in schools accredited by DOST.
The qualifiers in the DOST scholarship, program A, will receive a monthly allowance of P2,000.00, uniform allowance of P500 per
iii:i-, (7b page 38)
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