HE WAS A CHILD OF
THE MOUNTAINS of Lambunao, Iloilo, who took a one-way trip to Cebu in 1914 to
visit his older brother who was stationed there as a Philippine Scout.
Unfortunately for him, his brother and his detachment had been transferred a
few hours before he arrived. He was a complete stranger in a big and busy port
of Cebu, knowing nothing of the local dialect, much less, no relatives to seek
refuge to.
He was living by
his own wits on the streets until, one day, a kind Cebuano from Pasil took him
in as a servant. Not only that, he was given opportunity to finish his studies.
He studied by day at the Cebu Provincial Elementary School (now the Abellana
National School) and worked at night for the Cabije Family. He graduated from
seventh grade and proceed to secondary at the Cebu Provincial High School (now
the Abellana National School) as a self-supporting student.
He had to stop on
his fourth year to serve his country. He enlisted with the Philippine National
Guards, intending to follow the footsteps of his older brother who was sent
earlier with his unit to Europe. When his turn came, Armistice was announced,
ending World War I. The boat where he and his regiment sailed with has to turn
back to Manila. After receiving his honorable discharge he was able to catch up
and finished high school after passing the final examinations where he
graduated as salutatorian next to a valedictorian classmate who would become
one day the President of the Republic of the Philippines – Carlos P. Garcia.
As a high school
graduate of an American-run school during those early years, few but better
opportunities come knocking at you. Gervasio had already been working with a
newspaper as a delivery boy and learned the tricks of the trade from the
printing presses to the fields and on the layout desks. He rose from the ranks
and became editor one day in several newspapers. He married Consuelo Lumen in 1920 and,
inspired, studied law at the University of the Philippines Junior College (now
the UP College Cebu).
In 1925, he
entered politics and was elected with the most number of votes as councilor for
the then Municipality of Cebu (now the second most important city of the
Philippines). How could an Ilonggo able to win in a premier town of a premier
province where he was not a native of the place in his first try in politics
and by an overwhelming margin? Perhaps, the newspapers made him famous but, he
once said to a grandson, that Consuelo was his lucky charm.
At the heels of
that celebration came Gloria, the first born. She married Alejandro Panganiban
Sr., a corporate lawyer. Gloria became the city librarian. Then Virginio and
Evangeline followed. Virginio became a soldier a year before World War II. He
survived the Siege of Bataan, the Death March and the horrors of Camp
O’Donnell. He married Lourdes Galon of Labason, Zamboanga del Norte after the
war. Evangeline survived her parents, her siblings and her husband, Jose de
Paula Jr. of Jaro, Iloilo. She used to teach but is now focusing her time as a
writer.
Gervasio went on
to serve two more terms as councilor in 1929 and in 1933, authoring or
co-sponsoring many ordinances that improved the well-being of the Cebuanos
while expanding the services of the municipal government to reach far-flung
places. In 1931, he authored an ordinance that would change the course of
history of Cebu. It was Resolution Number 185. It requested the Lower
House of Congress to sponsor a bill converting Cebu into a Chartered City,
which was realized on February 24, 1937. What made it sweet is that he did this
with opposition from fellow councilors, all native Cebuanos, for seven years
and him, an Ilonggo.
Then he disappeared
from politics. We do not know why? We learned that Consuelo died in 1936 and
caused him so much grief. He graduated Bachelor of Laws in 1937 from the
Visayas Institute (now the University of Visayas) and passed the bar the
following year, the same year he married again with the lass from
Potat-Bagumbayan, Purificacion Alba. World War II came and the Lavilles Family
migrated to Bohol to escape the Japanese Secret Police who were looking for him.
From that safe refuge, he fathered a daughter named Marietta, who later would
marry Diego de Egurrola and both would serve as police officers.
A resistance force
made up of a handful of American and Filipino soldiers was organized in Bohol
and Gervasio’s experience with newspapers and as lawyer gained him commission
with the rank of captain and was given the task of conducting a propaganda war
against the Japanese. He published a monthly tabloid titled Bolos and
Bullets and he became a marked man. Japanese patrols missed him many times
by just a few meters in his farm and it was the worst time for food was scarce.
He told a grandson that his dog, Dinky, helped them survive.
The Japanese even
entice Gervasio to go above ground by using Virginio as bait but that was not
to be. Virginio outsmarted his guards and soon found him reunited with his
father, the same father who personally brought him to an Army enlistment camp
when other families hid theirs to faraway places to escape conscription.
Liberation brought the Lavilles Family back to Cebu and started life all over
again from the ruins and despairs of war. That was in 1945 and life was hard
and depressing.
Fortunately, he
gained employment when he was appointed by Pres. Sergio Osmeña Sr. as the
Register of Deeds for Cebu and then chosen as one of only three senior
examiners in the country by the US-Philippine War Damage Commission. There were
over twelve thousand candidates yet he was chosen for his honesty, integrity
and industry. It was a very demanding job for it entails a lot of travel,
surmounting some security threats and fending off many bribe offers from
businessmen who wanted to pad the actual costs of the damage which would have
benefitted them financially.
The 1950s brought
back a sense of normalcy for the Lavilles Family. Gervasio became a much-sought
after lawyer, not because he was very good but because he was very kind to his
clients. It was normal for him hefting home baskets of fruit and vegetables
after a lengthy day in the courtrooms. He exacts no fixed amount but he accepts
anything even a prayer of thanks. He worked with local newspapers as
editor-in-chief and was tapped by national and international press agencies as
their local representative.
Politics came
calling him again but this time, behind the shadow of the son of Cebu’s Grand
Old Man, himself becoming a great man one day, Sergio “Serging” Osmeña Jr.
Gervasio served as his private secretary and aide-de-camp when Serging ran as
Governor of Cebu, as Mayor of Cebu City, as Congressman and as Senator of the
Philippines. When Serging was not campaigning, he would either be City
Administrator or Provincial Administrator.
He had a long
professional relationship with his employer and friend and has to let go of his
newspaper jobs. He maintained only his weekly newspaper column in the Cebu
Morning Times titled Merely My Opinion, and became a professor of
history, literature, algebra and political science for the University of San
Carlos, Southwestern University, the University of the Visayas, and the
University of Southern Philippines. He still worked as a lawyer but limited
only to consultancies and notarial services.
Despite many
opportunities of enriching himself through his lucrative occupations and
positions in government and by his association with Cebu’s most popular
politician at that time, he lived simply and begged for privacy. He did not own
a house and was content to live in government land. When Serging challenged
Ferdinand Marcos in the 1969 Presidential Elections, he went with him on the
campaign trail, sometimes accompanied by his wife and a grandson.
Martial Law
brought his association with Serging to an end. He was not subjected to
harassment and shame by the military administrators. He travelled to Bohol many
times to look after his property with his wife and grandson. One day he sold
it. Other properties, token of payments for his lawyering, choice lots now, he
returned to his former clients. Even his own inherited property in Lambunao, he
donated all to his only brother to the consternation of all. He stuck to his
oath of poverty and owes this through his inspiration from Jesus Christ and
Mohandas Ghandi.
He liked to tell
stories to a grandson when both are alone. He, on the rocking chair, while the
grandson at his side on the floor and who, most of the time, read the day’s
news for him. He is an ardent historian, orator and poet and loved to quote
literary works of Lord Tennyson, Poe, Kipling and other literary greats. He
sung the songs of his time, sometimes strange sounding ones in an unknown
language.
His eyes, healed
long time ago by the presence of a very beautiful bird he saw when he was five
years old, failed him for good. It is a family lore that smallpox brought by
foreigners early in the century caused him blindness. His mother prayed and
asked for intercession from Saint Lucia, the patron saint of the blind. On the
ninth day of her prayers, this unusual colorful bird appeared to her mother and
to young Gervasio and he regained his sight.
As a speech writer
for Serging, he still found free time to write for his column, compose poems,
write short stories for magazines and authored a book. His book, CEBU:
History of its Four Cities and Forty-nine Municipalities, was published in
1965. Because of his literary achievement, he was recognized by the Province of
Cebu during its 406th Founding Anniversary in 1975 for Best in English
Literature, along with another literary great, Natalio Bacalso, who was honored
as best in Cebuano.
He died on June
16, 1986, three days short of his 90th birthday. His epitaph - “He left us
nothing but his good name which is worth more than all the riches of this world”
- is a testimony of his uncanny humility. A street in the barangay where he
lived out his full years of his life, was dedicated in his name in June 1989.
He was an Ilonggo by birth but he chooses to be Cebuano. He was a man for all
people, creed and status. He served everyone without fear or favor.
After EIGHTY
YEARS, the Cebu City Government finally gave him the recognition that his
descendants deserved it right for him, posthumously. When he was alive, he
would have wanted none of that, not even by the urgings of his friend, Serging.
He values his privacy although it is known that he accommodates everyone in his
humble home at any time of the day and night.
There is another
reason why he does not want to be recognized. In his conversations with his
family, he was slighted by the act of President Manuel Quezon when, instead of
recognizing the efforts of the entire municipal council of Cebu, he replaced
all with people from his political party, some of whom opposed his sponsored
ordinance. He, the wellspring of why Cebu became a city, was not even invited
to the event.
Today, February
24, 2017, is a date that the descendants of Gervasio Lira Lavilles, where he
would finally be reconciled with history. All things should be placed in its
proper order, without disregarding the memory of another illustrious Cebuano,
Vicente Rama, who fought for it nail and tooth in the halls of Congress. These
two contemporaries have given the foothold that Cebu City is now reaping.
The 80th Charter
Day Celebration was held at Plaza Sugbu, infront of City Hall. Evangeline and
Marietta lived long enough to witness this official city celebration along with
their children and grandchildren. Mayor Tomas Osmeña gave the welcome address
while Evangeline, now 87, recounts the deeds of his late father. Afterward,
there was a wreath-laying ceremony before a photographed image of Gervasio. The
affair culminated in the evening at the Cebu Grand Convention where prominent
and contemporary Cebuanos who brought honor and distinction to their city were
honored.
You might wonder
why Gervasio disposed all his lands? He was a lawyer who fought for both the
poor and the rich. Most of the litigation cases he handled have its roots in
land disputes. He witnessed families parted ways, sometimes violently, because
of these inheritances. It is not uncommon for a brother taking advantage of an
unmarried sister or an administrator cheats on the children of his employer.
Absence of property disputes made descendants of Gervasio closer. Remember his
epitaph?
You might wonder
also why an unnamed grandson is always cited in this short biography of
Gervasio? The old man had many grandsons and most of them were with him in his
journeys except for a few who were still too young. This particular grandson
was fortunate because he was with Gervasio for the longest time, enjoying walks
with him in the woods, engaging in long conversations and possesses the
patience to listen to all his tales and songs. He became a repository of his
memories. He was “educated”. That grandson is me.
Document done in LibreOffice 5.2
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